On the Other Side
by catseyegem
Summary: What happens when an innocent woman is dragged into a universe completely unlike her own? *Revised Chapter One now up!*
1. In the Beginning

**Part One: In the Beginning**

Author's Note: City of Heroes belongs to Paragon Studios. I'm only borrowing it for a bit.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

The brown haired woman shifted position, winced, drew the covers over her head, and winced again. The faintly bitter smell of incense and a phantom sensation of pain floated in the front of her memories. What had that been all about, anyway? Something about robed madmen chanting and pointing weapons, the feeling of being suspended in midair, the slow but steady numbness signaling the end. What a wild dream! Too bad it was time to get up and get ready for work.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Wait. That didn't sound anything like her alarm, so if it wasn't her alarm, then what was it? She opened her eyes and struggled upright, swearing as she tried to force her right arm to move to her command. What the hell was going on? Why was her arm strapped to a board, what was the IV for, and what was she doing in the hospital? The last thing she remembered was a wave of nausea, and Quinn, her tabby, fleeing into the bedroom. But... that had been nothing more than a nightmare, hadn't it? How had she ended up in the hospital, feeling like she'd been run over by a truck? And why, when she tried to flex her left wrist, the one she had sprained in her dream, did it still send a spike of pain up her arm?

Visions of those robed madmen came to her again. The 'beeping from the monitor behind her sped up along with her heart rate as and she scrabbled as best she could at the ties holding her good arm immobile. Somehow she didn't think it would be a good idea to find out what was going to happen next. She swore under her breath and gave up on the straps, the pain in her wrist too much. Instead she leaned over the guardrail, swearing again as every muscle in her body complained.

At the nursing station down the hall from the distraught woman's curtain enclosed bed the sole male nurse sitting at a computer looked up at the monitor bank, sighed and levered himself out of his chair. The new equipment they'd installed the month before was supposed to make keeping an eye on patients easier, but instead its false alarm rate was driving every one of them insane.

A scrambling sound from behind the curtain was the first sign something wasn't going the way it was supposed to. The man, tall and skinny, poked his head through the curtain, hoping to see a quietly sleeping patient, but instead he found himself facing a patient draped over the guard rail, right arm splayed outward, left fumbling for something underneath the bed. Not at all accustomed to patients trying to escape, he stuck his head outside the curtain and yelled for help before grabbing the semi-hysterical woman by the shoulders.

Catherine screamed and flailed at the intruder, hitting him as hard as she could with the restraint board. One down! Whatever they wanted her for, she wouldn't go down without a fight. He cried out and staggered away, hands clutching his face. Two more nurses, a shorter, overweight woman and and a man who looked to be the first nurse's twin, jerked aside the curtain and grabbed an arm.

She struggled harder. "Let go of me! I won't let you take me!"

The man and woman looked at each other in mutual sympathy. Catherine sensed a moment of weakness and took it. She heaved as hard as she could, catching the nurse on her left off guard and regaining the use of the limb. With a surge of elation she balled up her fist and hit the female nurse, who was still holding her right arm, in the head. Unfortunately for the panicked woman the nurse didn't let go, and the man who had had her left harm grabbed it once again, pinning it against the bed. The first nurse, now sporting a bloody nose, injected something into her IV port.

"Bastards," she muttered, before chemical oblivion overtook her.

For the second time that day, Catherine was woken by the sound of beeping machinery. Panic surged again, spurred on even more by the realization that was another woman at the foot of her bed, wearing a white coat and flipping though a metal chart.

"Who are you?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

The other woman smiled. "My name is Dr. Thomas, and I'm the doctor in charge of your care here. Can you tell me your name?"

"Where's here?"

"You've been admitted to the ward of Chiron Medical Center."

"Chiron Medical Center," she said flatly. It was beginning to dawn on her that madmen out to kill her probably didn't wear engraved name tags. Or keep records. That didn't rule out other sorts of madmen, but considering this one hadn't yet threatened her in any way, it certainly wasn't very probable. There was only one problem. She knew the names of every hospital in the city, and none of them were called Chiron.

Dr. Thomas nodded again. "Can you tell me your name? You arrived here without identification; our records currently have you designated as 'Jane Doe'.

"Catherine. Catherine Allen."

Scribble scribble went the doctor's pen. "Can you tell me what you remember?"

"I...," She shook her head. "I don't know. I'm not sure."

"Tell me what you remember. I promise I won't laugh."

"I was at home… and then," she shrugged and shook her head. "I just don't know." The wasn't entirely true; the gaps in her memories were very slowly filling, but what doctor would believe she'd somehow been kidnapped by robed madmen after her soul?

Dr. Thomas looked sympathetic. "At the very least, I can tell you what we know. First of all, you've been admitted to the Atlas Park branch of the Chiron Medical Center. As to what happened, it appears that you were the victim of kidnapping by the Circle of Thorns. The report we were given by the heroes that rescued you yesterday states you were to be part of one of their rituals, but none of the captured mages were forthcoming on details."

Catherine gaped. "I've been out cold since yesterday?"

The doctor nodded. "It's a-"

The distressed woman narrowed her eyes suddenly. "Wait, _where_ am I? And and or what is the Circle of Thorns?"

"You're in Chiron Medical Center in-"

"Yes, you've said, but where _is_ that?"

There was a pause. "This hospital is located in the Atlas Park sector of Paragon City, Rhode Island."

"Rhode Island? I've been dragged halfway across the country? That can't be right! I want a second opinion!" She took a long, shuddering breath. Why? She'd never been in any sort of real trouble, never made any real enemies. Her life, up until that point, had been uneventful. Of all the people in the world, why her?

Dr. Thomas put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there's good news as well. The tiredness and confusion you're feeling right now is a common reaction seen in patients of your type-" The look Catherine gave her at that point made her pause. " Whatever the Circle was up to, it drained a considerable amount of energy from you. Sleep and time is still the best way to replenish that energy. I'd like to keep you here until at least tomorrow morning for observation. You'll probably feel tired for a day or two longer, but after that you should feel just fine. Do you have any questions?"

"I want to call my family, They need to know I'm safe."

"I'll see what I can do."

By the time a nurse returned with a cell phone Catherine had calmed down considerably, although her eyes were still red and swollen. The device the nurse handed her was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, although that also applied to all of the equipment she'd since she'd arrived in the hospital. It looked like a very small phone with a touchscreen, but when she touched the screen it lit up and projected a full color 3-D display several inches in the air.

"Okay, that's cool," she murmured.

The coolness wore off almost immediately though, as the display was frustratingly touch-sensitive, and on top of that, none of the menus she accessed actually seemed to allow her to make a call. Several profanity-laced minutes later she finally punched in the number to her parent's home phone. After three rings she heard the sound of someone picking up, and her heart soared.

The display continued to show nothing but an image of a handset as a man's voice she didn't recognize emanated from the speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hi! Is Greg home? This is his daughter, Catherine."

"I'm sorry, there's no one here by that name."

Catherine raised her eyebrows at the display, then double checked the number. "What about Maryanne?"

"There's no one here by that name either."

She rolled her eyes, wishing she could see who was on the other side. "Just get me my parents, OK? I'm really not in the mood for this right now."

"I'm sorry ma'am, but you've got the wrong number." With that the man on the other side hung up.

Catherine glared at the holophone. Who did that guy think he was? Scowling, she redialed.

"McCaig residence."

Can I speak to Greg, please?"

"Greg doesn't live here ma'am." This time the voice was female, but no less aggravating." You've got the wrong number" The phone went dead once again.

"What on earth?" she muttered. "When I find out who that was, I'm so going to kill them." Chalk up one more weird thing since she'd woken up in the hospital. Madmen and nurses, and phone calls, oh my. But what was really going on? Something seriously strange was going on, that was for sure. Last she knew, there was no such thing as the Circle-thingy the doctor said she'd been kidnapped by. And she was certain the technology didn't exist for the phone she'd just used, or the computer-looking thing at the head of her bed that seemed to be monitoring her vital signs without touching her at all. To top it all off, her parent's number seemed to belong to someone with the wrong last name.

The only problem was what did everything pile up to? Maybe she'd passed out in front of the computer and given herself a concussion, and someone had heard the fall and called 911. Or she was having an amazingly strange dream, although her dreams usually weren't nearly vivid enough to involve pain. Or unusual enough to involve madmen out to get her, either. There had to be some logical explanation for what was going on. Had to be. But what was it?

A harried looking nurse, newspaper carelessly stuffed into one pocket, returned later to find Catherine staring off into the middle distance.

"Miss Allen?"

Catherine jerked convulsively, grabbing the rails of the bed and levering herself half out of the bed. "What the- Oh, good grief." She lowered herself with a breath of relief. "Please don't do that."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Do you need anything?" The nurses' name tag was engraved with the name 'Dianne'.

"Uh, no. I, uh, didn't manage to get a hold of my parents though. Mind if I keep the phone so I can try again later?"

Dianne shook her head. "It's not something we can leave at patient's bedsides. Too many of them go missing."

She stepped forward and slipped the gadget into her overfull right pocket, shifting the newspaper enough so that Catherine could read the headline.

"Manticore foils plot? Who's that?"

The nurse stopped dead in her tracks. "Manticore the archer? Part of the Freedom Phalanx? Stopped Crey Industries from hypnotizing us all?"

"Doesn't sound familiar."

Dianne nodded slowly and pulled the paper from her pocket. "Here Take it."

Fifteen minutes later the curtain whisked open, and Catherine look curiously over the newspaper to see who it was.

"My nurse tells me you've never heard of Manticore," said Dr. Thomas

Catherine raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes?"

The term "Circle of Thorns', you've never heard of it before I mentioned it earlier, have you?"

Catherine shook her head and she nodded. "Statesman? Lord Recluse? Salamanca? Galaxy City? The Rikti Invasion?"

Seeing her continued blank look, she went on. "Your parents, were you able to get a hold of them?"

Catherine glared at her suspiciously. "Where are you going with this?"

"I know this is going to be hard to believe, but it appears that not only have you been moved in distance, there is also the good possibility you've moved universes as well."

Catherine gaped at him for a moment, speechless. Okay, so the newspaper was filled with stories about _superheroes_ of all things, but there was nothing that said it couldn't be a special comic book thing. "Now I _definitely_ want a second opinion."

Dr. Thomas nodded, brushed aside the curtain, and closed it behind her.

.

Two phone calls and half an hour later a middle aged man and woman, both dressed in khakis and a blue shirt with an interlocking P and C on the left breast, knocked on Catherine's door, who had been transferred to a private room in the meantime. She watched them enter with suspicion; new things didn't seem to be going her way, and they weren't dressed like anyone else in the hospital. The woman spoke first.

"My name is Ophelia Marcum, and this is my colleague Harrison Jones. Dr Thomas wanted us to talk to you about your situation..."


	2. Hope

Author's Note: City of Heroes still belongs to Paragon Studios.

Catherine looked up at the building facade in front of her, then down at the business card in her hand, then back up at the Portal Corporation sign once more. She had been there once before, but that had been with Ophelia and Harrison the day after she had been discharged from the hospital, but it was another thing entirely trying to get there herself. She took a deep breath and held it, then released it slowly. No use in bringing back that particular memory. There was no mistaking it though, this was the place all right.

She took a deep breath, tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind her right ear, and unthinkingly attempted to open the door with her right hand, eliciting a grimace as she belatedly remembered her sprained wrist. With an exasperated sigh she tucked the small black fabric purse that had been part of the clothing bundle donated to her earlier in the week by the EUPTF under her right arm and opened the door with her left. Inside she was greeted with a blast of cool air, a welcome change from the high heat and humidity of the summer day outdoors.

She slowly made her way to a desk with an 'Information' sign above it, soaking in the atmosphere. Doors slid aside without a sound as men and women in lab coats or business suits walked through on their way to their destination. Almost everyone carried a briefcase or an air of importance; more than a few carried both.

The Information Desk itself was made of burnished metal and polished glass. A pleasant-looking redheaded woman in a neatly tailored suit sat behind it. As Catherine approached, looking vaguely lost amongst the hubbub, the secretary looked up from her computer and smiled warmly.

"Welcome to Portal Corp! How can I help you, ma'am?"

Catherine handed the woman the business card she'd been given. "I have an appointment to see Harrison Jones at one thirty."

The redhead glanced at it and nodded. "Take a seat, and I'll notify Mr. Jones that you're here."

Catherine dutifully sat in the black leather chair the secretary, whose name tag indicated her name was Stephanie, pointed out, and started to shuffle through the magazines neatly stacked to one side. Some were technical journals well above her head, while others were dedicated to superheroes, while still others were the lifestyle magazines she'd always hated.

She fished through them slowly, separating the ones focused on superheroes from the mix. One in particular caught her eye- on the cover was a picture of Manticore, and splashed below it in rather large print was 'Hero of the Year!' _Must be more about that thing with Crey_, she thought. Before she could take more than a cursory glance at the inside of the magazine Harrison walked up to the desk, the tall man dressed again in khakis and a blue shirt.

Catherine levered herself from the chair and shook his proffered hand. He winced and clutched his hand in mock pain. "You have a strong handshake." She snorted a laugh as he continued. "If you'll come with me, I'll show you to my office." He walked towards the same door he had come through at a casual saunter. "How has life been treating you so far?"

She thought for a long moment, trying to sort through her feelings. "This whole place is amazing… superheroes really exist! Heroes and Villains and epic battles and…" She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the look Harrison was giving her. "I'm sorry, it's just… this is the stuff of comics books in my universe. It's all so different."

There was a pause in the conversation as Harrison took them left around a corner, then up a flight of stairs.

"You've come to understand that you aren't in your own universe, then?"

Catherine winced, remembering her reaction after Ophelia had checked every database she had access to, searching for her Social Security number or a person otherwise recognizable as her and found nothing. "I'm going to have to apologize to Ophelia," she muttered, her cheeks turning faintly red.

Harrison stopped and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It was an understandable reaction. I can't say I would have done anything different, had I been in your shoes. And with any luck, we'll be able to get you home today."

She sighed and shook her head.

He smiled warmly and started out down the hallway again. "Come on, we're nearly there. In fact… here we are." He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, which was an old-fashioned wooden one and not one of the many on a motion sensor. It had the initials 'EUPTF' done in silver lettering displayed prominently on it.

The office itself was smaller than she had expected, and very neat. Two overstuffed chairs faced a desk with knickknacks and family pictures displayed in a row, and an electronic device inset into it that took Catherine a second look to realize was even a computer.

Harrison gestured to the closest chair. "Take a seat."

Catherine did so gratefully, sinking a bit into the cushion. He seated himself in his own leather office chair, then opened a drawer and pulled out a file with her name on it, then handed it to her. She took it and began leafing through the paperwork as Harrison explained.

"The paperwork you have there lists the risks of the procedure you may undergo today, pending the results of your tests. You don't need to sign it now, not until our technicians are able to locate the universe you came from."

Catherine leafed through the paperwork, looking through everything thoroughly. Unlike most of the legal paperwork she had signed before, this was understandable, if a bit dry. It seemed simple enough- the Extra-Universal Persons Task Force, a division of Portal Corps, would attempt to find what universe she had come from, using their own equipment and a detailed questionnaire that she had filled out on her first trip to Portal Corps.

After that rather vague description came a list of possible side effects. The list was rather impressive, spanning from 'death', and 'inter-dimensional division of the psyche' to 'unintentional transfer into a non-origin universe'. _That was enough of that, _she thought.

Harrison watched with a raised eyebrow as Catherine opened her purse and began to look through it. After a moment she found what she was looking for- a pen. She took a deep breath, let it out, then flipped to the last page of the contract where there was a line for her signature and that of a witness. She carefully laid the folder on her lap, then signed on the dotted line. _No point in waiting._

She closed the folder and held it out for Harrison, who nodded. "Done."

"As long as you don't have any questions, I'll take you down to the lab and we'll get things started."

Catherine shook her head and Harrison nodded again. He stood, edged around the side of his desk, and opened the door for her. She followed him out into the hallway, then waited as he relocked the door. He set off at a brisk pace down the hallway, folder in hand, and Catherine had to take a couple of long strides to catch up with him.

The two made it most of the way down the hallway in silence before Catherine frowned, having just thought of something. "I do have one question for you. Val- did she make it back? I haven't seen her at The Gardens in a couple of days."

He ran his hand through his short brown hair and smiled. "She did, yesterday."

"That's good. I'm glad she's home. She was so worried about her daughter…" She sighed, a wave of homesickness welling up. It went away after a moment, like it always did, but the thought of how much her parents had to be panicking at the disappearance of their only daughter stuck with her. After all, she was supposed to have met with them the same night she'd been kidnapped into the completely wrong universe. She held her breath for a long minute, trying to get herself back under control. There was no point breaking down into tears in front of a relative stranger.

After more turns around various corners Catherine had lost any sense of where they were in relation to anything else, Harrison stopped in front of a very heavy looking variation on the doors she had seen throughout the whole building. These didn't apparently have a motion sensor, as the doors stayed shut even as the duo stood directly in front of them.

Harrison opened a panel on the wall, then placed his hand on the scanner on the inside. The doors slid apart with only the slightest sound of pneumatics, and revealed a room so amazing it took her breath away. In the center of the far wall, surrounded by scaffolding, was a circular ring that reached almost all of the way to the ceiling. Inside the ring... _something_ swirled and a low hum that she could feel in her chest emanated from it.

She drifted a few feet farther into the room and leaned out over the railing that edged the upper deck, only half aware she was even doing so, trying to take in everything at once. Half a dozen scientists wearing lab coats and carrying clipboards were clustered near what had to be the portal, talking animatedly and taking notes. Along both of the side walls were banks of what she assumed were computers, with yet more people in lab coats here and there smoothly operating them.

Catherine jumped and whirled around, breathing quickly, as someone tapped her on the shoulder. Taken slightly aback by the reaction, Ophelia stared, mouth agape.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Catherine blushed faintly. "Uh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you either." Before Ophelia could say anything else, she turned and gestured towards the whole room. "This is _amazing._ Is that the portal?"

Ophelia smiled and looked inordinately proud of herself. "It is, one of many Portal Corp. has under its control.

This particular one is under my jurisdiction as the head of the Extra-Universal Persons Task Force.

It's ready for use now, so if you'll come this way…" Ophelia pointed towards the closest ramp leading to the floor.

Catherine nodded and followed a step behind, looking around as she did so, trying to take in everything at once. She'd seen bits and pieces of the evidence over the course of the last week, but that room was proof the universe she had landed in was far, far more technically advanced than the one she belonged to. She was sure that quite a few scientists would give an arm or a leg to be able to take apart even the most casually used piece of equipment there.

Ophelia led Catherine and Harrison to a cubicle tucked away underneath the suspended walkway the two had entered on. It was much quieter there behind the barrier, and Catherine looked at Ophelia questioningly.

"The walls in this area are lined with a material that absorbs not only vibration, but any energy put out by the portal when it's active. This way we can get an accurate reading with our scans. Now, if you're ready to begin?"

Catherine opened her mouth, then closed it again as words temporarily failed her. The thought of finally being able to end the nightmare of being in the wrong universe was nearly overwhelming, but so was the thought that if it didn't work she would be trapped forever. After a long pause, she nodded. "I'm ready."

Ophelia smiled and pulled a hand-held scanner that looked for all the world like something out of Star Trek out of a drawer and turned it on. It beeped long and low, causing the elder woman to scowl at it and begin to type, fingers flying over the display. Catherine watched, bemused, as after a minute or so the scowl turned to a satisfied smile.

"OK, it's ready. All I need you to do is stand right here, up against the barrier, so I can get as clean a scan as possible."

Catherine did as she was instructed, her heart rate and breathing picking up. Harrison, ever present, picked up on it quickly from his position in a leather rolling chair a few feet away.

"Relax. I know this must seem like the end of the world is looming, but it's not. Ophelia here is the head of the technical side of the Task Force for a reason- she's the best technician we've got. If she can't do it, no one can."

Catherine smiled thinly and took a deep breath. _Easy for him to say._ There was nothing for it though. "I'm ready as I'll ever be."

Ophelia nodded and held the device at Catherine's head, then slowly swept it down her body, all the while beeping methodically. She repeated his twice more, then pressed a few more buttons, and it stopped beeping.

She set the scanner down into an inset holder on the console next to her, then turned towards Catherine.

"You can relax now; that was the hard part. Now all there is to do is wait for the computer to match your universal signature to one of the dozen or so we've preliminarily identified as possibly being your universe of origin.

I have to say, the universe you've described is fascinating. Most of what we see are variations on our own- worlds in which various villain factions that are kept in check here by heroes conqueror everything there, things of that nature. Yours, on the other hand, has no heroes, no magic, no villains…"

Catherine shrugged and shook her head, feeling compelled to defend her version of Earth. "We've gotten along just fine without magic," she said, "and we've got heroes of our own, who don't even need superpowers."

Ophelia put up her hands placatingly and got as far as "I'm sorry," before the computer behind her toned and she turned her attention back to her work. Catherine raised her eyebrows at the back of Ophelia's head and glanced over at Harrison, who smiled.

Catherine watched over Ophelia's shoulder as she flew through screens and menus so fast the refugee could barely make one out before another came up. After a few minutes the elder woman sighed and removed the scanner from its slot. "I need to scan you one more time. There seems to be some sort of energy interfering with the readings, but it's not coming from the portal. You aren't carrying anything that emits radiation, are you?"

The younger woman tried not to look at Ophelia as if she'd grown another head. "No, not as far as I'm aware."

Ophelia nodded, oblivious to Catherine's tone of voice, and repeated the process one more time. Not having anything better to do, Catherine stared cross-eyed at the scanner each time it rose to eye level. This time, Ophelia didn't even turn around, her full attention on the downloaded information scrolling down the screen.

Harrison stood and clasped Catherine on the shoulder and smiled at her reassuringly. She let out a deep breath and leaned back against the barrier behind her. "Everything will be fine."

Catherine smiled halfheartedly and wished for something to do besides wait and see. _Mom and Dad are probably panicking right about now_. The thought sprang unbidden into her mind. _I was supposed to have brunch with them that weekend. And I've probably lost my job, too…_

The sound of the tone from the computer brought Catherine out of her reverie. She could feel the beginnings of tears forming, but she fought them back. Crying would get her nowhere, but the looks on Ophelia's face was almost enough to put her over the edge.

"There's something wrong, isn't there," she said flatly.

Ophelia took a moment before speaking. "The energy interference I mentioned a moment ago is magical in nature; most likely you absorbed it when you were brought here by the Circle of Thorns. It's… very strong magic, so strong in fact that the universal frequency recorder can't divorce it from your own signature." She sighed. "I'm so sorry, but we can't send you home."


	3. Ups and Downs

Author's Note: City of Heroes still belongs to Paragon Studios.

Catherine carefully shifted her groceries to her other arm as she fished the keys to her apartment out of her pants pocket. As she struggled to fit the right key into the old lock the door two apartments down creaked open and a blonde poked her head out. "Hey there neighbor! Need some help?"

Catherine smiled and handed the fabric bag over, then turned back to the door and its recalcitrant lock. "Thanks. You think by now I'd be able to figure this out."

The other woman smiled in return. "Let me try. There's a trick to these old doors." She set Catherine's groceries on the floor at her feet and held out her hand.

Catherine stepped aside and handed over the key. "Go ahead."

"All you need to do," the blonde said, "is lean against the door like _this_, and turn the key like _this_, and voila. The door unlocks. It's too bad the landlord won't just replace them, but I guess beggars can't be choosers."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it. I would have been here all day messing with that lock otherwise." She paused as something occurred to her. "Y'know, I don't think we've met. I'm Catherine."

"Noel. How long have you been living here? I don't think I've seen you around."

"Only a few weeks."

"Oh really? Where were you before that?"

"I... uh, not from around here."

Noel raised an eyebrow, but Catherine's tone of voice and the look on her face stopped her from prying any farther. "So. Where do you want these?" she asked, picking up Catherine's groceries.

"Thanks, but I'll take them."

Noel looked hurt for a moment, but rallied magnificently. "Hey, some friends and I are going out bowling tonight. You should come."

Catherine hesitated. Since she'd arrived in Paragon City she'd kept to herself, but Harrison's advice to try to live as normal a life as possible lurked in the back of her mind. Also in the back of her mind though was the hope that Ophelia and Harrison would one day knock on her apartment door and tell her she could go home. There wasn't any point in getting comfortable only to leave it all behind.

It slowly dawned on her that she'd hesitated too long, and was now getting an odd look from Noel. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I just thought I'd offer."

"No! No, I'm the one who should be sorry. My mind wandered for a bit there."

"So... are we on for tonight? I mean, if you have other things planned..."

Catherine smiled. "We're on."

"Great! Six o'clock, right here."

The two parted ways and Catherine backed into her apartment. She set her groceries down on the rickety card table that served as the kitchen table, surveyed the living room with dismay for not the first time, and sighed. It was times like this when the differences between now and _before_ were more obvious than usual. She'd had a good job as manager of the day shift at a local department store. Night classes for a degree in Computer Science. A nice apartment and a nice car. And now she had a bag of groceries, a card table, and a bed that had seen better days. Her only possessions, besides the clothes she had been kidnapped in, were in a cardboard box of clothes and other essentials that had been donated to her as part of the EUPTF.

She sighed again and put her groceries up, then picked up the newspaper from the counter where she'd left it and opened to the classifieds. There was, she decided, no harm in looking. After a few minutes of circling everything from data entry to secretarial work to car repair, it occurred to her she'd seen 'Help Wanted' signs in the windows of a few local businesses.

First things were first though. A stop to the local thrift shop for something nicer than the jeans and a t-shirt she was wearing was in order. _Then_ job hunting. And then, of course, a night out making new friends. Things were finally beginning to look up.

Back in her apartment, Catherine threw on the same jeans she had worn earlier and a newly bought light blue blouse to put over her white undershirt. A look at the small alarm clock that had come with the apartment told her that Noel would be there in the next few minutes, so she stuck the pile of applications she had gathered into a drawer and pulled her still slightly damp hair up into a high ponytail. She was just about to pull a light jacket from the closet when there was a knock at the door.

She unlocked the door and opened it only far enough to see who it was, a habit she'd gotten into since realizing the sort of neighborhood she now lived in. Once she saw Noel on the other side she threw on her jacket and slipped out into the hall, locking it again behind her.

"Everyone is outside waiting. Come on!"

The blonde led the way down the hall past the broken elevator and down the stairs to the main floor, where three other girls were waiting, talking amongst themselves animatedly. Two of the girls were brunettes, the other a redhead, and each were dressed for a night on the town, either in capris or tight jeans and spaghetti strap shirts.

The redhead noticed the duo first and waved. "So this is the new girl you mentioned!"

Catherine laughed and stuck her hands in her jacket pockets. "Catherine."

"I'm Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Liz," said the redhead.

"Amelia," said the woman wearing a tight pair of black jeans and a red top. "And she's Sara," Amelia supplied, pointing to the tallest of the group.

The thin, dainty woman smiled. "Birdie."

"So, I figured we'd just go to Paragon Lanes tonight because it's closest," said Noel.

Liz raised her eyebrows at that. "Ladies' Night doesn't have anything to do with it?"

Noel laughed. "Of course not. You know me."

Catherine grinned. "Riiight."

"Oh, not you too."

Birdie checked her watch. "We should go before it gets too busy and we can't get a lane."

The five set out down the street, the conversation ranging from the newest pop idol to the latest and greatest heroic deeds of the day. Catherine saw her chance and took it. "So, what happened with Manticore and Crey? I saw the article in the paper, but that's it."

"What, you mean you haven't heard? Where have you been? It's been all over the news," Amelia said.

Catherine shrugged nonchalantly. "I just moved into town."

"Well, Manticore was investigating Crey like usual, and somehow he found out that CreyComp, the new computer system that's been in the news so much? It was apparently going to brainwash us all into buying their stuff and a bunch of other things. So now Countess Crey is jail because of it, but _she_ says that one of the guys that used to work on it sabotaged it, gave the info to Manticore, and then quit so that she would get all the blame."

"Good grief," Catherine said, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's insane."

"Yeah," Amelia said. "It's a good thing Manticore is here."

"Don't forget the rest of the Freedom Phalanx," Birdie put in.

Amelia snorted. "What about the rest of the Freedom Phalanx?"

The girls laughed. "I think we've got a fangirl on our hands," said Noel.

"Mmhmm," agreed Catherine.

Amelia facepalmed. "Don't you start in too."

This time Catherine laughed. _Just like old times..._

At the bowling alley the banter continued as they got their lanes, put on the proper shoes and split into teams. There was a moment of confusion as they realized there were an odd number of people, but that ended with a lively round of Rock, Paper, Scissors between Noel and Liz. In the end, Catherine was quickly welcomed onto Liz and Birdie's team.

After three frames they had quite a lead, and Amelia accused Noel of having brought a ringer. Then the alcohol began to flow, and after that, no one quite cared anymore. By the end of the night they'd played five games, and Amelia was pressing Noel to do something Catherine was rather interested in seeing.

"C'mon, you said you'd got a new trick. And Catherine hasn't seen you at all."

"A new trick. _That's_ what you're calling my magic now?"

"She's a magician," Liz told Catherine

"A _good_ magician." Noel added. "Watch."

With that she grabbed her purse and pulled out a small fabric pouch. Inside was what looked like a string of gems attached to something silver, but with careful manipulation turned out to a very delicate diadem. "Never perform magic without the proper headwear," she said, and Catherine laughed as the others rolled their eyes.

"She does this every time," Amelia said quietly.

"Shush," Noel said, and set the diadem in place, a cat's eye held in the center of her forehead. From a different fabric pouch she pulled an amethyst out and held it cupped in her hands. Catherine watched avidly as her new-found friend began to chant so quietly that even sitting a few a few feet away she couldn't make out what was being said, while the others watched with an air of comfortable patience.

Suddenly, she realized the air around them had turned a faint purple, which grew deeper and deeper until it was like the quintet were actually inside the gemstone. Catherine gasped, and the others looked around them with awe.

"Only we can see it," Noel said, sounding quite pleased with herself, but more than a little tired. She put both the diadem and the amethyst back into their respective pouches and put those back into her purse. "The barrier will fade on its own," she said by way of explanation. Sure enough a minute or so later the sphere lightened until it was barely visible, then disappeared entirely.

"Okay, that was amazing." Catherine said. "How did you do that?"

Noel grinned. "Magic."

"But that doesn't explain anything! I mean, okay, yes, physics doesn't really seem to apply around here, but there still ought to be _reasons_ for things."

Liz raised an eyebrow and looked Noel, then Catherine. "You aren't from around here, are you?"

Catherine grimaced and looked away, then back again. "No, no I'm not." Her voice was tight as she tried to avoid breaking into tears yet again. She'd had enough of that over the past few weeks.

Liz's eyes widened as she realized what Catherine meant. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-" She hugged Catherine, who smiled in appreciation. After a moment Liz pulled away, and Catherine sniffled. Birdie produced a tissue from her purse, which was accepted when Catherine was sure she wasn't going to cry did the quintet turned in their shoes and leave.

It took a block and a half for the night to become even more interesting.

Birdie, observant as always and also the least drunk, saw them first. She tapped Noel on the shoulder to point them out, but it was too late. Their group had been noticed, and the four gangers dressed primarily in red and black began to saunter down the street. Two carried baseball bats, one wore a half-skull mask, and all of them wore bandanas and an air of menace. The one with the mask stopped ten feet from them, the others close behind.

"Now look what we have here. Isn't it a bit late for you young ladies to be out alone?"

"Hellions," Amelia muttered.

Catherine nodded and wished fervently she had stayed home. She'd heard of them, and read about them in the newspaper, but coming face to face with them was another story completely. They were supposed to be relatively incompetent, but they certainly didn't look that way in the limited light from the streetlamps.

Noel rolled her eyes. "Isn't it a bit late to be making fools of yourselves?"

The other girls gasped. Birdie leaned forward to hiss in Noel's ear. "_What are you doing?_"

Noel waved off her friend's concern. "It's just the Hellions. Nothing to worry about."

The lead Hellion- Catherine recognized him as one of the Damned- laughed. "You've got everything to worry about right now, lady. Especially if you don't do as I say. Hand over your valuables, or else."

"No," said Noel.

The Damned looked over his shoulder at the others behind him. "Sounds like-"

Whatever he was about to say next was cut off as an inch thick layer of ice suddenly encased him.

Everything stopped as everyone stared at Noel, who was holding something in her right hand and looking smug. The silence broke when one of the bat-wielding lowlifes hefted his weapon. "Get them!"

Catherine and Birdie screamed and fled down the block, Liz and Amelia close behind. In their panic they hid around the nearest corner; none remembered the safety of the bowling alley less than two blocks away. It was immediately obvious that they were missing one, and so Catherine stuck her head cautiously around the corner to see where Noel was.

She was relieved to find that none of the Hellions had followed them, but this was only because the three remaining Hellions had surrounded Noel, who appeared to be deep in thought, as if she wasn't about to be beaten to a bloody pulp or worse.

This seemed to have the Hellions confused because none of them had attacked, and in fact they seemed to be waiting to see what Noel did next.

They didn't have to wait long. A cold wind rushed down the street, making Catherine shiver. It passed Noel, leaving her unscathed, but turned things upside down for her opponents. The three remaining free Hellions found themselves covered in a patchwork of ice.

Noel swayed, then a second later seemed to realize the position she was in. While the Hellions were busy breaking themselves and their leader free she shoved the gem she had used to create the ice back into her purse and ran.

Catherine stepped out onto the sidewalk to show Noel where they were only to have the other woman practially collapse in her arms. With Amelia's help she dragged the half-unconscious woman around the corner.

"What are we going to do now?" Liz asked.

"I don't know!" Catherine muttered.

"We can't stay here," Amelia pointed out.

"If we keep quiet, maybe they won't know we're here," suggested Liz.

Catherine looked at Noel, who was leaning against a wall while sitting on a conveniently placed crate. "Somehow I don't think that's going to work."

Silence reigned as the three tried to think of something. Finally Birdie peered around the corner cautiously, then jerked her head back. "They're gone!"

"That solves that, then," said Amelia, sounding relieved.

The next morning found Catherine seated at the card table, newspaper in one hand and forkful of omelet in the other. She was just about to turn the page when there was a knock at the door. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and stared at the door suspiciously for a second before getting up and unlocking the door only far enough to see who was on the other side. Noel smiled and waved. "I wanted to apologize for last night."

Catherine opened the door wide and waved her friend in. "Do you want an omelet? I've got the supplies for one more."

"Oh, no thank you. I ate earlier."

Noel eyed the other woman. "You didn't sleep last night, did you?"

Catherine flashed a strained smile. "No, not really."

Noel put her face in her hands. "I am never drinking ever again. I am so sorry."

Catherine shrugged noncommittally. "Everything turned out for the best."

She watched for a second as Noel rummaged in her purse for something. "Was that part of your magic last night? You should be a hero."

"Too dangerous. Last night should have landed me in the hospital." Noel shook her head as she found what she was looking for. "Here. I brought this for you. One of my clients is a member. She wants me to join, but I don't have the time. I thought maybe you would be interested." In her outstretched hand was a neatly folded orange piece of paper.

Catherine took the orange flier curiously and opened it. It turned out to be an advertisement for a place called Ace Karate. ""They have all sorts of self-defense classes there," Noel explained. "It's not a bad idea to be able to protect yourself. There are too many gangs around here, even with the heroes keeping them in check."

"That's not a bad idea after last night. I'll have to check it out." She turned to put it in the drawer along with her applications, then turned back. "Are you sure you don't want something to eat?"

Noel's stomach rumbled and the two laughed. "Sorry, but I've got to take a rain check. I've got a gig to go in an hour, and I'm running late as it is."

Catherine nodded. "Rain check it is. Break a leg!"

Noel grinned. "Thanks."

Catherine finished her omelet, rinsed the plate, set it in the rack to dry, and opened the drawer that both the flier and applications in it. She pulled out the applications and set them aside, then took a look at the flier once again. She made a mental note to find out how close the intersection of 13th and Taylor was, and saw that the first class, whichever she chose, was free. Nodding to herself, she put the flier back in the drawer. It was definitely something to look into.


	4. A Series of Unfortunate Events

**Part Four: A Series of Unfortunate Events**

_There was nothing but pain, and pain engulfed her every sense. She was being torn apart from the inside, every atom pulling apart from its neighbor, farther and farther until suddenly she was whole again, and the pain was gone, replaced by a numbness that pervaded every cell. She tried to open her eyes, move her fingers, but nothing responded. Suddenly, green light, starting as nothing but a pinpoint, but expanding with startling rapidity into an all-consuming brightness… Malevolence surrounded her; chanting voices rose in unison, promising everlasting torment._

_After an eternity compressed into seconds she found herself conscious but still unable to move, surrounded by madmen in robes with glowing eyes. One of them gestured sharply, and she fell out of the air. She screamed…_

Catherine woke with a start and struggled to sit upright, unsure of where she was. After a moment's panic she sighed and shook her head, then looked at the digital alarm clock she'd bought a few days before. Sure enough, it was four in the morning, and she knew from experience nothing in the world would be enough to get her back to sleep.

With every light in her apartment on it was easier to remember that she wasn't still in the clutches of the Circle of Thorns, and that they weren't about to sacrifice her to some horrible god to bring about an even more horrible demon, but even in the safety of her apartment she could still hear their chants and see the malice in their eyes.

She shuddered and rubbed her wrist, which ached despite the fact it had healed fully more than two months ago.

It was far too quiet, that was certain. That needed to change

.* * * *

Later that day, as Catherine was about to take a lunch break from her job as a cashier at the local supermarket she caught a glimpse of someone she hadn't seen in awhile- Liz Moore. She hurriedly packed the last few items for her last customer, practically ran into the employee's lounge to punch out and darted back, hoping her friend hadn't left the store.

Her luck held, and she spotted Liz in the entryway scanning the notice board there. Catherine grinned, then quietly walked up and tapped her on the shoulder. "Find anything interesting?"

Liz shrieked and whirled around, handbag in hand, ready to fight and found Catherine with her hands in front of her, looking surprised. "Don't do that! I hate it when people do that."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea." Catherine put her hands down and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good to see you! Where have you been? We've missed you at bowling."

Liz laughed and ran her hand through her hair. "I've been busy. I've still got my job at the salon, and I'm going to night school now at Paragon University, trying to get my Bachelors in Business Administration."

"Excuse me ladies, is everything okay here?" said an elderly man in a dark blue security uniform. "I heard a scream from this direction."

Catherine turned red. "Everything's fine. Just a prank gone wrong."

The security guard scowled at Catherine. "I know you work here. You should know better."

She nodded and looked sheepish. "I know. I'm sorry."

The guard nodded back. "Have a good day." He then turned and went back into the store.

There was a moment of awkward silence. "Well then," said Catherine. "You should join me for lunch. Do you have the time?"

"Well, I came to get groceries, but that can wait until after my shift. Any place in particular?"

Catherine shrugged as the two walked out into the warm sunshine of a summer day. "There's a burger place nearby. That's where I usually go."

Liz wrinkled her nose. "Hmm… do they have a vegetarian option?"

"They do."

"Let's go then!"

The duo chatted lightly as they walked together down the street, catching up on the events of the past month. Once they reached the restaurant they took their place in the surprisingly short line. A few minutes later, food in hand, they sat at an outdoor table on the sidewalk under the shade of a red and white umbrella.

About halfway through her cheeseburger, Catherine yawned, and Liz raised an eyebrow. "You look tired."

"I didn't sleep well last night."

The eyebrow went higher. "Your eyes are red. Are you okay?"

Catherine took a bite of her sandwich before answering. "I'm fine. Things are a little stressful for me right now, is all."

Liz looked worried, but held whatever she was going to say in favor of finishing her veggie burger.

"I really am fine," Catherine said. "And I've got tomorrow off, so I'm going to spend most of it asleep."

"You're off on a Thursday?"

Catherine nodded. "My shift is just that, shifted. I've got tomorrow and Friday off, but I work Saturday and Sunday."

"Weird."

Catherine shrugged. "It works."

She glanced down at the digital watch on her wrist, then blinked and squinted at it. According to it, it was eight o'clock in the morning. She sighed and shook her head. For some reason electronics had a tendency to malfunction around her. "Do you know what time it is?"

Liz glanced at her own watch. "It's almost one."

"Oh, man, I've got to go." She quickly scribbled a series of numbers onto an unused napkin. "Here's my number. Call me, okay?"

Liz tucked the scrap into her purse. "Of course."

Catherine gathered her trash and got up, leaving Liz to finish her meal, then did her best impression of a champion power-walker back down the street to her job

Mind a thousand miles away, Catherine was brought back to reality when several sets of hands reached out from an otherwise deserted side street and dragged her into it. She stiffened and closed her eyes, too terrified to even think about screaming.

A male voice. "Come on, we gotta get out of here. We're gonna get spotted if you don't move your ass faster."

"We're gonna get spotted if you don't shut up." This voice was female.

"Both of you shut up and help me get her up here." A different, deeper, male voice.

At that Catherine opened her eyes and thrashed frantically, trying to dislodge her captors. "I don't have anything you want, I swear!"

The Damned standing on the lowest platform of the fire escape above her laughed. "I've been told otherwise, babe."

She screamed, only to be cut off when he reached down and grabbed her by the throat. She pulled at his hands, trying to loosen them enough to get even a tiny bit of air, but his position and grip meant that she had no chance. After a minute, her struggles stopped.

By the time Catherine came to, gasping for air, the Hellions that had assaulted her were long gone. Even so, she examined the area around her as best as she could without actually having to move. Absolutely sure she was alone she carefully pushed herself upright and groaned. Her whole body ached, but the pain was worst in her throat, making it hard to even breathe. She groaned and put her head between her knees, hoping the nausea would pass. It did, even if it wasn't as quickly as she hoped, and she was soon checking herself for injuries.

Her jeans were torn and her arms and shins were covered in scrapes and bruises, but other than that she seemed to be unhurt. That was something at least. Her belongings were another story though- her purse, with her keys and wallet inside, was missing. She sighed and put her head in her hands.

After a few minutes she regained control of herself and started a search for the fire escape, which didn't take long. She clambered down the rickety contraption and after a moment's thought started down the street, headed towards her job.

As soon as she stepped back into the store a manager who happened to be nearby flagged her down. "Catherine! Where have you been? You're half an hour late!"

"I- I'm sorry. I uh, I got jumped by the Hellions. They stole my purse."

The manager, Jason, short and heavyset with graying hair, frowned and hustled her into his office. "Have you called the PPD?"

Catherine shook her head. "No… I, uh, woke up, and I came here. I'm fine, I think."

Jason's frown deepened. "If you passed out, you need to be seen by a doctor."

"I'm fine, really. I can finish my shift."

Jason would hear nothing of it, and Catherine soon found herself back at Chiron Medical Center.

A few days later Catherine returned home from work, a grocery bag in each arm, to find police and fire trucks parked in the courtyard of her apartment complex. She stopped just short of the police line and scanned the area, trying to catch someone's eye as a trickle of dread ran down her back. A policeman standing off to one side caught sight of her from the corner of his eye and looked up from his clipboard and the paperwork he'd been filling out. "Ma'am, do you live here?"

"Yes, I do. What happened?"

"There's been a fire. What apartment are you in?"

"314."

The policeman lifted the yellow tape in between them. "Ma'am, if you'll come with me…"

Almost an hour later Catherine found herself escorted to the charred remains of what had been her apartment. In shock, she slowly picked through the sodden mess, trying to find something, anything, salvageable. To her dismay, everything she had come to think of as valuable- half a dozen small wooden figurines of various animals, the whole box of supplies that Portal Corp had provided to her, a dozen worn paperbacks, were all gone. It was the loss of the portable DVD player that Noel had loaned to her the day before, however, that was the last straw, and she leaned up against the counter and cried, unable to hold back her tears any longer.

Noel stopped by not long after the police left, and to Catherine's relief not only offered her a place to stay for the night but waved off the loss of her DVD player.

By mutual agreement that night turned into movie night spent on the overstuffed couch with a bowl of popcorn between them. First up was a sci-fi action flick featuring a mutating virus and the ragtag band of heroes formed to find a cure, then a time-traveling romance involving the end of the world. As the credits for the second movie rolled their conversation turned to the future.

Catherine sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't even know what to do now," she said. "My paycheck isn't going to cover everything."

"Didn't the police say it was an arson?"

Catherine nodded. "It was probably the Hellions- I told you they stole my purse the other day, right? I told the police I think they're targeting me, but I don't think they believed me."

Noel straightened out and sat up from where she had been sprawled on her side of the couch. "No, you didn't. What happened?"

There was a pause. "I got jumped by the Hellions. One of them… when I woke up, they were gone, and they had my purse."

"They tried to kill you? Oh man, I wish I had been there."

Catherine chuckled at that, then sobered. "It was weird. It sounded like they were after something in particular."

"Oh really?"

Catherine shrugged. "The Damned that was there, he said something like, 'he'd been told otherwise' when I said I didn't have anything they wanted."

"Definetely weird." Noel yawned and checked the time. "It's late. Time to call it a night?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

The next morning Noel wandered out of her bedroom, dressed in a long grey t-shirt and matching baggy shorts, to find Catherine already awake and seated at the dining room table, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Morning sleepyhead." Catherine said with a smile.

Noel raised an eyebrow, and her friend shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

Noel frowned. "Still, or again?"

"I plead the fifth."

The frown deepened. "That's not normal, you know."

Catherine shrugged again. "I still owe you an omelet. Do you want one?" Without waiting for Noel to answer she got up from the remains of her breakfast and began rummaging through the refrigerator. "I know I saw eggs in here when I was looking for the milk..." There was a sigh from behind her, which she ignored in favor of finding the rest of what she needed.

When she turned around again, Noel was nowhere to be found, which suited her just fine. So what she hadn't slept well since she had arrived in this insane place? Somehow she didn't think anyone who'd been through what she had would sleep either, and it wasn't like it was affecting her daily life much. She was holding down a job just fine, wasn't she? Which reminded her. "Do you mind if I use your phone?" she called. "I need to tell my boss I won't be in today."

"Go ahead."

One phone call later and Catherine was off the hook for the day.

After a few minutes the sound of the shower told Catherine where her friend had gone, and by the time Noel came back out of her room, hair wrapped in a towel and wearing jeans and a collared shirt, her omelet was ready on the table.

Catherine grabbed a banana as Noel sat down to her meal and the two ate in silence until finally Noel put down her fork and turned to look at her friend. "Need anything from me today?"

Catherine thought for a second before shaking her head. "I don't think so. I need to talk to Mr. Logan about my new lease, then to the thrift store to replace what I can, then… I don't know." She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I'm going to need a second job, that's for certain."

"I'll go with you over to the leasing office," offered Noel. "I need to renew my lease myself."

"You don't have a gig today?"

"No, not for the next few days."

"The leasing office should be open soon," Catherine said, and looked at her watch, which she'd reset in the hopes it would work longer than a few days at a time. "Now, even."

Noel finished the last of her omelet and put her dishes in the sink. "I'm ready when you are."

"Let's go then."

The two left their building and headed down the street in amiable silence. Noel seemed content to enjoy the early morning sun, but Catherine was on edge, constantly looking around and behind her, jumping at every noise louder than a footstep.

"Relax," Noel said with a smile. "No one is out to get you."

"It certainly doesn't seem that way," Catherine muttered darkly. "This place is insane."

Noel laughed. "It's your 'place' now too, you know."

"Not helping."

Much to Catherine's relief they made it to the leasing office unharmed, and soon one new lease was made up and another renewed. As the two stood to leave Mr. Logan stopped them.

"Come with me. I have something to show you."

Catherine and Noel exchanged glances and followed as the manager unlocked a nearby door, flicked on the lights, and stood aside.

Catherine gasped at what she saw inside: a large cardboard box filled to overflowing with blankets and clothes and food and other odds and ends. Overwhelmed, unable to speak, she simply looked at the box, then at Mr. Logan, then back at the box. It had never occurred to her that anyone else knew that it was her apartment that had been targeted, or even cared enough to want to help someone in need. It had simply been her problem.

There was a long moment of silence, only broken when Catherine turned to Noel. "You knew!"

Noel put her hands up innocently. "I swear I had no idea."

"The Resident's Association put everything together," said Mr. Logan. "They're the ones to thank."

Catherine nodded absently, still trying to come to terms with things. "I'll have to do that."

There was another pause, then, "Um, how heavy is that box? I don't think I'm going to be able to carry it alone."

"I'd offer you a ride, but my truck is in the shop today," said Mr. Logan.

"It can't be that bad," said Noel. "The two of us can handle it." As proof she knelt and picked it up with a grunt, then looked over at Catherine. "I've got it. Let's go."

Catherine looked dubious. "If you're sure."

Mr. Logan bid them a good day and held the door for them as they exited back onto the tree-lined street. They walked in silence, Catherine lost in her own thoughts and Noel busy concentrating on not dropping the rapidly heavier than she expected box. Neither woman paid any attention to the rustling behind the shoulder high hedge that lined the inner side of the sidewalk until it was too late.


	5. Surprise

**Part Five: Surprise**

"Oh, not again," Catherine muttered as Noel carefully put the box down behind them. By the time she turned around again the four Hellions had ranged out in front of them. Three carried baseball bats. Their leader, carrying nothing obvious and standing in the center, looked like all of his Christmases had come at once.

"Well, look who we have here," he said and Catherine went cold. She recognized his voice- he was the same one who had tried to kill her a few days before. The bruises around her neck had barely faded.

"You!" She cried out. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

The Damned laughed. "You pissed off the boss and now he wants to see you personally. We're here to bring you to him."

Catherine took a deep breath. "No."

"I'll tell you what. You come with me, and we'll leave your friend alone."

She glanced at Noel, who seemed to be off in her own little world and not paying attention to anything going on around her. She recognized the look and worked to suppress a smile.

Unfortunately for her, one of the Hellions carrying a baseball bat on one shoulder picked up on it. "Whatever you're smiling about lady, I wouldn't do it if I were you. We know everyone you know. You don't want to see anyone else hurt, do you?"

Catherine saw red. No one threatened her friends and got away with it. She strode forward, enraged, toward the group of pyromaniacs. She suddenly stopped after two paces, then closed her eyes. The Hellions held their ground warily.

The temperature around the Hellions rose sharply and a glow surrounded Catherine, white at first, then a vibrantly bright green, then black. Strands of oily darkness lashed out lightning quick towards the hapless villains and wrapped around their chests, pulling them into the air to struggle helplessly.

"_Who is your boss?"_

"C'mon man, don't shoot the messenger!" cried the Damned.

"A_nswer my question. Who is your boss?" _The strands tightened their grip.

The Damned's only response was to summon a fireball and launch it at Catherine. To his surprise, it fizzled out a foot from his hand. Another strand whipped out and circled the leftmost Hellion and dragged him to the front of the group. He dropped his weapon and put both hands to his throat, trying to get enough air to breathe.

_"You threatened my friend. Now I threaten yours."_

He sneered. "What kind of hero are you? You're gonna kill him in cold blood?"

_"I am not a hero."_

He glanced over at the Blood Brother Slugger, who was beginning to turn blue. "Fine! Faculus sent us! He didn't say why, just that he wanted you alive."

Suddenly, before Catherine could reply, the temperature plummeted and ice crystals formed in the air. Noel made a complicated gesture that seemed to allow one arm to pass through the other and the crystals flew towards the Hellions, encasing them in a thin layer of ice.

A few seconds later Catherine jumped as Noel grabbed her by the arm, then leaned heavily against her friend, her legs barely able to keep her upright. She stared in confusion at the Hellions, who were laying scattered on the sidewalk and street partially encased in ice. "What's going on?"

"Run!"

Noel took off, still holding on to Catherine, who stumbled a few steps before getting her feet underneath her. "My box!"

"Forget your box. We can get it later."

Catherine slowed and glanced over her shoulder. "I can't leave it." She grabbed Noel by the shoulder. "Wait, look."

The two women watched as the Hellions broke themselves free from the ice that hadn't already melted, then ran off between two apartment buildings. None of them so much as glanced over at the two women.

The two glanced at each other, neither sure what had just happened. Catherine shook her head and walked back down the sidewalk towards her box, Noel a few steps behind. She inspected the box and its contents, found them to be damp, and put her head in her hands. "I want to go home."

An hour later, after what could be salvaged had been set up in Catherine's new apartment and everything that could be washed was in the washer down the hall, Noel leaned up against a wall while Catherine lifted herself onto the kitchen island. _At least this one has better carpet,_ she thought.

"So... do you remember what happened earlier?" asked Noel, sounding hesitant.

"Somehow I think that's one of the many, many things since ending up here I won't ever be able to forget. How does anyone manage to live here, anyhow?"

Noel shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, usually people don't get attacked as often as you do."

Catherine sighed. "Wonderful. What do these nuts have against me, anyway?"

"You don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?"

"You don't remember running straight towards them, then glowing and nearly killing one of them?"

"…No. I think I'd remember that."

"What _do_ you remember?"

Catherine paused. "You were in a trance, I think, and then they threatened you, and then you were telling me to run."

"Wow."

"You're serious I did all of that?"

"Yeah." Noel was silent for a while, looking uncomfortable.

"What?"

Noel sighed, looking like she would rather be doing anything else but standing there. "Is there something you aren't telling me? You were glowing black_._ That's not normal, even here."

Catherine stared, at a loss for words. "You've known me how long? I've read comics, I know what you're implying. Do you really think I'm evil or something?"

Noel frowned. "No, of course not."

"So what do you think?"

Noel hesitated.

"Get out! Get out of my apartment right now!"

The next evening, Catherine, still angry about Noel, waited at the bus stop with a crowd of end-of-the-day commuters and her coworker Leon. Leon was a bodybuilder and one of the biggest guys on her shift and also rode the bus, and so Jason had asked him to keep an eye on her. He was talking animatedly about the upcoming football season, but she was more interested in running over the day before in her head once again.

Resentment and anger flared as she remembered what Noel had insinuated. She didn't remember exactly what had happened, but it certainly hadn't involved her doing what certainly seemed to sound like magic. That was Noel's thing. Noel had been born in the right universe, for a start. Catherine was sure she didn't have a magical bone in her body. Her cash register had even stopped randomly malfunctioning, so whatever weirdness she had acquired from her arrival was gone, for sure.

She jerked into awareness as Leon elbowed her. "Off in your own little world?"

"Yeah, sorry. It's been a long few days."

"Don't worry about anything while I'm around. There's a reason Jason sent me with you."

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh." She shifted position as her stomach turned.

Now Leon raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm-"

"-fine." Catherine looked around at what had been the bus stop just seconds before, but was now a hilly, wooded area. "Or not. This is not going to end well." She took a deep breath and turned in a circle. She was surrounded by oak trees, thick enough that she couldn't see where they ended, assuming she was even anywhere near the edge of the woods. One area though, in front of her and to the left, was thinner.

There was nothing for it. Staying put would not only not get her help her find out where she was, it would make her a sitting duck for whoever or whatever had transported her. Considering she'd landed in a secluded area, odds were bad that the transporter was a nice person. With a sigh she set out.

After five minutes Catherine was no less lost than she had been. While the trees were spaced farther apart, they showed no signs of ending any time soon. She sighed again and surveyed the trees nearest to her for the easiest one to climb. Most of them had only scraggly lower branches, as the light didn't normally reach down this far. One, however, had a few branches spaced close enough together that she could climb quite a ways into the air. Hopefully from there she could see just exactly where she was, and even more hopefully, where everything else was as well.

She had very carefully made it ten feet into the air and was contemplating the next nearest branch, which was at waist height and just barely within reach, when she smelled the unmistakeable scent of sandalwood. She swore under her breath and lunged towards the next branch, fear and a sudden spike of adrenaline fueling her. There was only one thing she associated sandalwood with, and it was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. If she was lucky, she could make it far enough upwards to get into the thicker foliage and not be seen.

Unfortunately for her, luck was once again not on her side. A green glow sprang up around her, freezing her in place only inches short of her goal. She tumbled to the ground and landed in a heap on the leaf litter, then found herself lifted into the air as six robed mystics emerged from in between the trees. If she could have controlled her muscles well enough to swear, she would have. There was no way she was going to survive this.

Five of them carried either a crossbow or a wicked-looking knife and were dressed in brown robes with the hoods pulled so far forward she couldn't see their faces. What she could see, however, was frightening enough- two small trails of green flame where their eyes should have been. The sixth wore a robe as well, but it was colored in purple and black and without a hood, and he wore a tall, black hat. He seemed to be the one in charge, motioning the others into a rough circle around her while he positioned himself directly in front. The Mage stared upwards at her with malevolent glee

"Ah, you never expected to see me again, did you?" With that, Catherine regained control over her muscles.

"I have no idea who you are," she spat. .

The Mage shook his head. "You have a short memory. We last saw each other only a few months ago."

Catherine turned pale. The last time she had run into the Circle of Thorns wasn't something she wanted to remember. Or repeat, for that matter. The first time had landed her in Paragon City. Who knew what would happen the second time around?

"Ah, I see you do remember me. Good, good. I certainly remember you. That ceremony would have given me the power I needed to cement my position in the Circle, but you ruined it, and me. You can help me regain some of that power, you see. After a month of reflection in the facility you so laughingly call a prison I found you had gained the power I sought for so long. This cannot stand, of course. That power belongs to me, and I will tear it from your body with pleasure."

Catherine stared, then shook her head. "You're _insane._ I've no powers of any sort, demonic or otherwise. Let me go!"

"Ah, you fool only yourself. My Hellions, as useless as they ultimately turned out to be, have already told me of your new-found dark abilities."

Catherine said nothing, her mind racing. So _that_ was why the Hellions seemed intent on making her life miserable! All because of an accident she hadn't had anything to do with, despite what the obvious madman thought. "I just want to go home," she said plaintively. "I swear, I won't bother you or anyone else."

Faculus laughed, a dry, scraping noise. "Ah, I weary of this banter. It is time."

Catherine screamed and attempted to lunge at Faculus, who never moved, but simply held his hands above his head and muttered something his captive couldn't hear. A very old looking book appeared several inches above his hands and continued to float at that same height as he lowered his hands enough that he could read from the tome with ease.

An intricate chant rose up from the mystics until Catherine could hear nothing else. As paralysis slowly seeped into her body she screamed again, hoping against hope that someone, anyone, would hear and come to her rescue. With her eyes open she had no choice but to watch as Faculus led the ritual to its crescendo.

Moments later, a burst of white light bright enough to be painful illuminated the area. A woman's voice cried out from behind her, and Catherine's heart rose.

"I see the Circle of Thorns are still up to their old tricks. Well, you're about to have one less victim!"

Faculus had only a split second to react before he and his compatriots were literally frozen in place. With the ceremony disrupted, the magic holding Catherine still and in the air dissipated, and she crashed to the ground. Unable to see, she scrambled to her feet and ran for her life, one hand out in front of her. She touched something cold first and dodged around it with a scream, then a few feet farther the rough bark of an oak tree.

She continued to run until she was out of breath, then stopped and put her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. The pain from the flash of light was thankfully gone, but her vision was still blurry. She blinked several times, hoping it would clear, but to her dismay it didn't. She swore under her breath. She wasn't dead, but instead it looked like she was partially blind.

A woman's scream and the sounds of a battle going very badly replaced the sound of her heart beating in her head, and Catherine put her head In her hands. "Why me?"

As much as she wanted to help there was nothing she could do. Faculus had it out for her, someone was going to die, and it was her fault. A meaty thunk made her wince, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Despite her denials, Noel's description of the day before kept coming back to her. _"You glowed black,"_ she'd said. "_You nearly killed them." _But what her friend had seen had scared her, scared her enough to wonder whether her friend was evil. Which meant that, at least to Noel, her power was real. And dangerous.

Besides, even if Faculus was right and she had been infused with a demon's power, there was still a problem. She had no idea how to access those powers. She'd gotten angry and then... there was nothing.

But someone was going to die if she didn't do something. _She_ was going to die if she didn't do something. It wasn't like Faculus was going to leave her alone. He'd made that clear. Fine then. A decision had to be made.

"I'm out of my mind," she muttered, but her step didn't falter as she headed back in the direction of the battle.

The view that greeted her as she came out from behind the last of the trees was not a good one. The five minor mystics were still encased in their icy prisons, but Faculus had broken free and gone on the attack. Her rescuer's hooded black robe was torn and scorched, and she was obviously favoring her left ankle. Faculus had lost his hat and was breathing heavily, but otherwise looked uninjured. The ground below them glittered with ice and debris.

"Leave her alone! This is between you and me."

.

Faculus turned and Catherine resisted the urge to run. Dark energy surrounded him, making him look like a demon himself. There was a crazed look in his eyes, as if the time and place he was looking at wasn't the one he was actually in. "Ah, I see you've decided to make it easier on yourself. A good choice. It will not, however, save this woman her life."

"This is between you and me," Catherine repeated. The world around her tinted green as she began to glow.

Faculus laughed and waved his right hand in the air, releasing the other mystics from the ice. "Ah, let it never be said I fight fair."

The hooded heroine sprang into action, hurling fist-seized balls of ice at the nearest mystics. "Run! I can handle these losers!"

Catherine shook her head. She could feel the power welling up in her, unlike anything she had ever experienced before. New knowledge flooded her mind and she laughed at the insignificance of the Mage in front of her. "You thought you could drain me? Have a taste of your own medicine!"

She raised her arms out to the sides and thick strands formed from the new-found darkness around her, then sent them soaring towards Faculus. To her dismay the mystic simply held up a hand and watched as the strands dissipated against it.

"Ah, you try to use my own power against me. I'm afraid it will do you no good."

Anger flared in Catherine, and something in the back of her mind flared with it. Whatever it was it felt old, as old as time itself. It wormed its way forward in her mind, leaving behind the impression of intelligence and wisdom, dust and decay. _Leave the weakling to me._

Catherine jerked in surprise. "Who are you?" she said aloud.

_Why, I am a part of you,_ came the reply in her head, while Faculus simply shook his head and began to chant. _Let me show you._ The air around her heated quickly, fast enough and hot enough to make her wince, but somehow it left her skin whole.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" Suddenly the Death Mage wasn't a priority. She closed her eyes, hoping it would help her focus. She could feel the _thing_ trying to control her movement. It brought with it something interesting; the knowledge of how to create and control flame.

She screamed and opened her eyes as she felt a bone-chillingly cold wind pass through her, leaving her feeling drained and weak. She screamed again in rage as the _thing_ in her head laughed, and created a ball of flame the size of a baseball in the palm of her right hand. She could hear it snap and crackle as if it was fueled by wood, but her hand stayed cool. She smiled, then wound up and threw it at Faculus who in his surprise misjudged the speed of the projectile and took it full in the chest.

He staggered back a pace and patted out the small fire that had started in his beard. He hunched forward, robe scorched, and leaned against a nearby tree for support. "Ah, you haven't seen the last of me!" With that, he made a complicated gesture and vanished into thin air.

With no targets left, the _thing_ faded away until she couldn't sense it at all, leaving her feeling oddly alone. As the adrenaline wore off and her breathing slowed the magnitude of what she had just done dawned on her. Her knees gave out and she sank to the ground, then burst into tears. Only the sound of leaves crunching underfoot made her look up, to find the hooded heroine at her side. The stranger knelt down at her side and looked into her eyes.

"Who _are_ you?"


	6. Progress

**Part Six: Progress**

Catherine narrowed her eyes at the other woman, stung. "Who're _you_?"

The robed heroine stood and took a step back, then offered her hand. "You can call me the Winter Mage."

Catherine sniffled and accepted the outstretched hand. "I... thanks for rescuing me."

"You're welcome," the heroine said as she moved to sit on a downed tree. As Catherine watched curiously she pulled a small device of some sort out of her robe and activated it. Catherine skittered back as it erupted in green light, but the heroine never flinched as she pointed it at her chest and ankle. "Don't worry. It doesn't hurt."

Catherine stared at the device suspiciously, then cautiously took it from the other woman. The silver cube fit neatly into the palm of her hand. A slot on one side held a cartridge half-full with clear fluid, and stamped into the bottom was 'Portacio Industries Cellular Regenerator'. On top there was a LCD display and a blue button. Not seeing anything else to activate the Regenerator, she pressed the button and nodded when it emitted the same green light.

She pointed it at the palm of her left hand first where she'd scraped it in her flight, just to see what would happen. It tingled some and to her amazement the scrapes on that hand vanished before her eyes. She took a deep breath, raised the Regenerator upwards, and then down again. "What would happen if I pointed this at my eyes? It's not going to blind me, is it?"

Winter Mage shook her head. "No. However, it won't affect injuries older than a few hours."

Catherine grimaced. "No problem there." She took one last look at the machine and handed it over to the heroine. No matter what she said it wasn't worth the risk, especially since her vision was slowly improving on its own.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, the silence broken only by the wind through the branches. No animals lived in that part of the woods; the magic that permeated the area kept them away.

"So, um, where exactly are we?"

"You don't know?"

Catherine shook her head. "No... I was on my way from work... and then I wasn't any more."

"We're in the Hollows, not far from the Skyway City entrance."

Catherine let out a breath. "I started in Atlas Park," she said, shaken. "How did you find me?"

"I felt the spike in energy. It wasn't hard to trace to this location." With that, Winter Mage stood. "I can escort you home, if you like."

"I'd appreciate that."

Winter Mage pointed to their left, towards the setting sun. "This way." She set off at a brisk pace in the direction she'd pointed out. It was only as Catherine went to follow her she noticed the empty robes of the defeated mystics and shuddered.

"Don't worry. The mystics of the Circle of Thorns may look human, but they're nothing more than ghosts."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

For the next few minutes silence reigned once again. Catherine was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, trying to ignore the fact that if it weren't for some seriously good luck she'd be dead, that she almost ran into the back of a suddenly stationary Winter Mage**. **"You did well."

Catherine blinked and glanced at the heroine in confusion, but with the other woman's hood in the way it was impossible to see her expression. "What?"

"Not many people, even with abilities of their own, would do what you did."

Catherine shook her head. When she spoke, her voice was tight with emotion. "I... too many people have been hurt because of me already."

The Winter Mage nodded. "This isn't the first time?"

The brunette grimaced and looked away. " Let's just say the past few weeks have been more exciting than usual and leave it at that."

Winter Mage nodded again, compassion in her voice. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Catherine shook her head, wanting the conversation to be over. "It's just one of those things," she said shortly.

"Oh?"

Catherine glared. "I can handle myself. I don't need you or anyone else to protect me."

The Winter Mage turned and moved forward. "You did indeed. Having seen your powers in action, I would even say with training you may be more than a match for the Circle of Thorns."

Catherine snorted. "Right. Me, a heroine."

"It's not such a horrible thought."

"What, you're offering to train me?" she said in surprise.

"I am."

Catherine swore under her breath as she struggled with the pleated fabric laid out in front of her on a long, wide, wooden bench. Sensei showed her aikido class how to fold it at the beginning of every class for the newcomers that were always trickling in, but trying to do it on her own was turning out to be more difficult than it should have been. "Whoever invented this thing must've never folded it themselves," she muttered.

There was laughter from the other side of the room. Catherine knocked the black hakama to the ground in surprise. She swore again, and the laughter continued. "Whoever you are, it's not funny."

A tall woman in her twenties, with dyed red hair and blue eyes rounded the corner of a row of lockers. "Need help?"

Catherine sighed and leaned against another set of lockers. "Yeah." She bent to retrieve the recalcitrant garment. "This thing makes no sense."

The redhead smiled and nodded. "It takes practice, but it's not hard once you get the hang of it. Here." She took the pants and carefully flattened it out on the bench, then slowly folded it into its proper shape. "Like this." She paused mid-fold and looked up at the brunette. "I'm Rose."

"Catherine."

"I haven't seen you here before. You new?"

"Sort of. This is my third class."

Rose shrugged, and then put the last folds into the hakama. "We must've missed each other. I haven't been coming as often as I'd like." She stood up and cracked her back, then gestured towards the folded garment. "There you go."

Catherine smiled. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Hey, a few of us go to the coffee shop down the street after class. The 'Roast Bean', have you heard of it? You should join us."

Catherine pursed her lips. She had to meet the Winter Mage at the King's Row tram station in a little more than an hour for her first lesson. There wasn't any harm in meeting new people though… or so she hoped. With her luck, who knew what would happen. She shrugged mentally, and smiled outwardly. "Sure. I won't be able to stay long though."

"Not a problem. Grab your stuff and let's go!"

Catherine carefully tucked her hakama into her locker, pulled out a battered blue duffel bag, and slung it over her shoulder. Behind her, Rose stepped back around the corner or the locker room and reappeared with a red backpack.

"C'mon, slowpoke. Time's a-wasting.

Catherine laughed. "Ready when you are."

Once Rose dropped off her backpack in her car the two quickly walked the two blocks to the coffee shop, which was tucked in between a flower shop and an art gallery. The door jingled as the two women walked inside. Catherine looked around curiously as Rose waved enthusiastically to three men who were already in line.

It was comforting in its familiarness; apparently there were only so many ways you could set up a coffee shop in any universe. Which made sense. The floor and furniture were wood, and a chalkboard next to the door listed special offers. Behind the counter three baristas worked as quickly as they could to get orders in and out again.

"Hey Chris, I brought someone new!"

A tall man with short brown hair turned around, quickly followed by two other men, both shorter, one with his blond hair in a ponytail, the other was bald and slightly overweight. The three broke into smiles as the two women joined them in line.

The two people in front of them placed their orders as the group made their introductions. "The usual for all of you?" asked a short, stocky woman in a blue smock. The others nodded while Catherine added a medium black coffee to the order.

The group settled into their usual table tucked away into a corner. "I take it you guys come here often?" asked Catherine.

Jon nodded. "For about, what, four months now? Every day after class." He looked to Chris for confirmation.

"Yeah. First it was you and I, then Rose joined, then Martin. There have been others, but this is our core group."

Jon took a sip from his tea, then leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his bald head. "So tell us about yourself."

Catherine shrugged. "Not much to tell, honestly. I've led a boring life."

"What brought you to aikido?" Chris asked.

Again a shrug. "Too many nutcases on the street. I might as well know how to defend myself."

"It's the same here. My job as a journalist doesn't put me in the best of areas."

"Oh really? What newspaper?"

"The Paragon Times."

"Sounds like fun. More glamorous than being a cashier, that's for sure."

Chris chuckled and shook his head. "You'd be surprised."

"If you say so," said Catherine dubiously. She glanced at the others. "So what do you all do?"

"Computer repair," said Martin.

"I'm a pharmacist," added Jon.

Catherine raised an eyebrow at Rose, who returned it with a smile. "Temporarily unemployed."

Catherine made a face. "That sucks."

Rose shrugged. "It happens." She shoved her chair backwards, empty cup in hand. "Who wants seconds?"

Martin crossed his arms and leaned on the table. "So, did you guys hear about Waxahachie Park yesterday? There was a forcefield around the area again. News said it was some sort of blue clockwork attacking the Carnival of Shadows."

Jon nodded. "I heard it was the Praetorians."

Catherine frowned in thought for a moment. "Didn't they kidnap Statesman once?"

This time Chris nodded. "A year and a half ago. I wrote an article about it, actually. Positron and the rest of the Freedom Phalanx rescued him from Tyrant, with the help of Maria Jenkins. Tyrant holds a grudge against our universe because of it."

"I just hope everyone came out okay," said Catherine.

"Who came out okay?" asked Rose, a coffee cup in both hands. Jon reached over to take his espresso as Martin responded.

"The people that got caught in Waxahachie Park yesterday."

"Rose frowned and set her coffee down on the table. "I thought it was just the Carnival of Shadows involved. The fewer of _them_, them better."

"There's always bystanders caught in the chaos," put in Catherine. She looked to Chris for support. "Did you hear anything?"

"There are always people confined to their homes, or that can't get out of the area in time. The city provides counselors for them, if anyone caught in the incident wants one."

Catherine drained the last of her coffee, then took a surreptitious glance at her watch, which Rose caught.

"Time to go already?"

"Yeah. I've got to meet my friends for bowling. I'll never hear the end of it if I'm late."

A few minutes later Catherine was on the street and heading towards the tram station near Atlas Plaza. She checked her watch once more, then picked up the pace against the flow of pedestrians heading the other way. If she wasn't careful, she was going to be late. She wasn't sure how that would go over with the Winter Mage, but it probably wouldn't be good.

Twenty minutes after that Catherine found herself at her destination- the street outside the Kings Row tram station. She pressed herself up against the wall of the rundown building and kept one hand tightly on her purse as she watched a steady stream of people heading too and from the station. Even with the floodlights from the street and parking lot it was still too dark for her tastes.

Now that she was actually in the middle of it, she had to wonder what had gotten into her. All she had really managed to do that day was make a Death Mage even more angry at her, and nearly gotten a random heroine whom she had never even met before killed in the process. And now she was going to do what? Learn from that same heroine she'd only met once and really had no reason to trust? Other than the fact that Winter Mage had saved _her_ life as well. There was also the fact that as much as she didn't want to admit it, even to herself, the thought of having superpowers and being able to control them was _amazing_. _And_ she'd be able to keep Noel and Liz and Rose and everyone else she'd met since her arrival out of it. There was no reason once she'd practiced some that she couldn't handle everything on her own. She wouldn't be a victim any more.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of white light from an alleyway not far from where she was standing. She and the middle aged couple nearby screamed almost simultaneously and ran, not wanting to find out what had caused it. Catherine though, only made it a few paces before skidding to a halt when the Winter Mage called out behind her.

Catherine turned and slumped against a light pole, clutching her chest. "What was that for? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Winter Mage's face was still hidden by the deep hood, but her voice and body language were clear enough. "I'm sorry. This is the fastest and safest way to reach my hideaway. Take my hand."

Catherine stayed put, looking suspicious. "How?"

"Teleportation. It's the safest way, I assure you."

"Uh-huh."

Winter Mage spread her arms. "I am unhurt."

Catherine sighed and walked over to take the heroine's hand. "Fine. Let's go."

As soon as she did so the world spun viciously in a blur of grey and blue, which faded into the white she was becoming more and more familiar with. She groaned and half-collapsed, half-sat on the ground and leaned against a leg of a nearby conveyor. Sheet white, she put her head between her knees and took deep breaths, waiting for the nausea to pass. As soon as she felt well enough she took a good look at her surroundings.

She was obviously in an abandoned warehouse of some sort, with long conveyor belts in lines on the floor and giant hooks hanging from the ceiling. Most of the windows, set high in the walls, were boarded over. Scattered between the hooks were lights but most were broken, leaving the interior dimly lit.

"There's no way I'm doing that again," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry?"

Catherine sighed and levered herself to her feet. "I said, there's no way I'm doing that again." She swayed for a second and steadied herself with a hand on the conveyor she had been leaning against. "Give me a second and I'll be okay."

Winter Mage nodded. "We will begin whenever you feel you are ready."

The other woman took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Winter Mage nodded again. "Let us begin then." She gestured to a battered wooden chair. "You can sit if you like." She herself didn't move. "First things first. I saw you control something resembling negative energy and fire when we fought the Circle of Thorns. Can you do anything else?"

Catherine shook her head. "Um... not that I know. I... I just get angry and it happens, honestly."

"Hmm... hold out your hand and create a fire there."

Catherine looked at the Winter Mage, then down at her hand, perplexed. After a second, she concentrated, trying to do as the heroine asked. In the back of her mind, there was once again laughter. She made a face, then looked back up at the heroine. "I can't do it."

The Winter Mage paused for a long moment, drumming her fingers on the conveyor belt. "The power you harness is inside of you, correct? You don't require an external focus?"

"I don't think so? It depends on what an external focus is."

"I can show you." The heroine pulled a small black bag from a pocket of her robe and carefully poured a blue gemstone into the palm of her hand. "This is an aquamarine. Using it as a focus, I can create water, like so." A small ball of water formed between the two of them. "Without it, I can do nothing." Without warning, she tossed the stone to Catherine, who managed to catch it before it hit the floor. She straightened up just in time to see the ball hit the floor with a splash, turning the immediate area to mud.

"Um, no, I don't need to do that."

The Winter Mage nodded. "Do you trust me?"

Catherine blinked, surprised at the sudden turn their conversation had taken, then looked at the Winter Mage suspiciously.

"What?"

"There is a way to find your inner focus, but you must trust me in order to find it. This form of meditation is not to be taken lightly by those who are unused to it. You may find yourself trapped, unable to find your way out again."

The suspicious look continued. "And this is the only way?"

"Without requesting outside help, yes."

Catherine sighed. The whole situation was getting weirder and weirder by the moment. She couldn't shake the feeling that any second now some game show host would come jumping out of the shadows along with his camera crew and declare everything an elaborate hoax. She would be furious, of course, but it would also be the sanest thing that had happened in the past few minutes.

Could she trust the Winter Mage? Was there really only one way to find out how to harness her own magic? She knew the entity in her head had something to do with it, but what had caused _it_? She'd heard of a woman named Azuria, who was the contact for all new heroes who used magic, but there was no guarantee there either. And she didn't have a hero license. Or intend on getting one, either. She only wanted to be able to protect herself without getting anyone else involved. Which left only one way to go about things.

"OK, let's do it."

To her surprise, the first thing the Winter Mage did was push her hood down, exposing her face. Even as she focused on it though, she realized that there was something wrong with what she was seeing. Every time she blinked, the other woman's face was a little different. One moment her eyes were blue, then grey, then brown; her whole face changed slightly. It was more than a little disconcerting. For some reason it was also a little familiar, although she couldn't place why.

Winter Mage pulled another wooden chair from where it had been leaning against a wall set it up a few feet in front of Catherine. "Close your eyes and relax." She did so, feeling faintly foolish. There was the sound of something rustling, then the sound of metal brushing against metal. Then: "Take a deep breath in, and hold it. Now release it and exhale. Let all of your worries leave with that breath…"

As the Winter Mage continued to talk slowly and steadily Catherine felt herself become lighter and lighter until she could no longer feel her body sitting in her chair, or even her body at all. In the end there was nothing but her own awareness, suspended in time and space.

She pictured a door in her mind, not a particularly ornate one, but one painted the deep red of the door to her parent's house, and a decorative metal fleur de lis set below two wooden-framed windows. The door frame was painted a similar red. She moved towards it, curious.

As she approached it opened on its own, revealing a shimmering stretch of sand as far as the eye could see underneath a starry sky. Nothing moved. She stepped forward into the desert and abruptly found herself back in her own body. She swayed and stumbled forward a pace, catching her balance before she could hit the ground. She was still wearing the same clothes as she was in the real world- khaki pants and a light blue collared shirt, her usual work clothes.

There was a _click_ behind her and she whirled around to find the door shut. To her horror, she could no longer hear Winter Mage's voice, either. She was on her own. A long moment later she took a pace forward, then looked over her shoulder to find the door thankfully still there. Facing forward once more she slowly made her way into the desert.

After a few minutes two lights appeared in the distance. As she got closer she could see that they were markers of a sort, each pillar about four feet tall and flanking a third. Two balls of fire sat in a shallow indentation in the stone, somehow burning without fuel. The central pillar was unremarkable; it was the same color as the sand that surrounded it, and was weathered badly. There was no writing or other markings.

Catherine stood in front of them silently, thinking. It was some sort of test, obviously. But what was it a test of?

The sound of laughter rang in her ears as a figure coalesced out of the haze on the other side of the marker. It was humanoid and male, with brown skin and the faintest hint of horns and a muzzle. Two wings sprouted from his back, fire tracing the edges.

Catherine stepped back involuntarily. "Who are you?"

"_Why, I'm part of you,_" he said.

"I think I'd know if you were."

The man laughed. "_Who truly knows themselves?._"

Catherine rolled her eyes. "I do, that's who. So what are you?"

"_I am what I am, a demon of once immense power_."

Catherine glared at him, deep in thought, then: "Why do you sound familiar?"

The demon merely smiled, revealing a mouth full of very sharp teeth.

"Faculus. You're what he was trying to summon. You've been in my head."

"_You are correct. You are also running out of time._"

"What do you mean, 'running out of time?'"

The demon said nothing.

Catherine swore under her breath again. If the demon really was part of her, then it could at least be more useful. She sighed and looked at the balls of flame again. They still burned merrily in their little depressions. The demon continued to smile as she turned her attention to the central pillar. Now that she looked at it again, there was a shallow depression in the top of this one, matching the depression in the others.

She reached out with her right hand towards the ball of flame on the right. Nothing happened, even as she put her hand directly into the fire. She waved her hand through it, but neither affected the other. The demon continued to watch her silently. Although it was hard to tell, she could swear he was smirking at her.

She put her hand down at her side, then stared at the demon in thought. There was something different about it from a few minutes before. It looked more solid somehow, more real. Now _there_ was a worrying thought. An even more worrying thought was that she herself felt... different, not right. With a sinking feeling, she looked down at herself. Sure enough, her body had a slightly fuzzy look to it. That was one mystery solved, at least, even if the answer was something she could do without knowing.

So. What was the answer to the full picture? The demon had a part in it, and so did the pillars in front of her, but what did it add up to?

Eventually, she said, "You've always been there when I've used magic. In fact, you _are_ my magic. Meaning that since you're outside of me, I can't use that magic right now. So that means you need to become a part of me again before I can leave. If I don't… then I'm stuck here, forever. But _you_ aren't, are you? There's enough magic in you to use my body- you did it that day against the Hellions. And you're malicious enough to not care who you hurt. Which means…"

Catherine leaned over the pillar and put her right hand on the demon's chest. Waves of darkness spread outward from that point, engulfing the demon and spreading up her arm into her own chest. The demon dissolved into nothingness, his essence now a part of the young woman. As the last of his power drained into Catherine she shut her eyes, then opened them again, and laughed at what she saw: the warehouse.


	7. Trial By Fire

**Part Seven: Trial By Fire**

There was only one thing on Catherine's mind as she let herself into her apartment after work: 'It was time.' She slipped off her raincoat and hung it to dry in the closet, then kicked off her shoes. It was time to make up with Noel for sure. She's have done it sooner, but at first she'd still been upset, and what with the kidnapping, and school and work and aikido and now training with the Winter Mage, the only thing she still wanted to do was crash at home.

But today was the day. There was no point in putting it off any longer; the last thing she wanted was for Noel to think that she didn't care at all. Not after everything Noel had done for her.

First though, food and a change of clothes. She had nothing against her work uniform of a logo-ed dark blue shirt and khakis but there was no need to be in it any longer than necessary. One quick change into jeans and a faded red t-shirt, and a sandwich later she knocked on Noel's apartment door, butterflies in her stomach. Noel opened the door and stuck her head out, then smiled and opened the door fully. "Oh, hi! Come in!"

Catherine smiled as well and followed Noel in, looking around curiously as she did. Her friend changed the look of her apartment whenever the whim took her; last time she had been there everything from the paint to the animal figurines on the coffee table were in bright, primary colors. Now the apartment was in transition to an ocean theme in various hues of blue. Both looked odd with the steel grey carpet, but Noel showed no signs of caring.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No. Why?" Noel gestured to a padded wooden chair, then turned to the cabinets above the kitchen counter and looked over her shoulder. "Do you want something to drink? You look like you could use one. What's going on?"

Catherine took a seat and a deep breath. "Just water is fine. And there's nothing going on... I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the other day. I've, uh, come to terms with myself since then. I was out of line."

Noel handed the glass of water to Catherine, then leaned against the countertop. She was silent for a moment, then, "What do you mean?"

"It's... been an interesting past few days. Let's just put it that way. But... I accept what happened, and what I am now." She laughed bitterly. "Not like I have much choice in the matter."

Noel nodded. "I shouldn't have been so quick to judge. I should know better than that, living here in Paragon my whole life. Things are never what they seem here. More than that, you're my friend. I should have trusted you. I'm sorry."

Catherine stuck out her right hand. "Truce?"

Noel nodded. "Truce."

"So, uh, what's been going on in the meantime? Do you and Liz and the others still go bowling?"

"Mhmm. Still Wednesday nights."

Catherine stared at the ceiling for a minute, mentally arranging her schedule. "Still at eight?"

Noel nodded.

"I might be a little late, but I can make it. I've got class at PCC Wednesdays."

Noel laughed. "Tired of working at SaveMart already?"

Catherine shrugged. "I used to work as shift manager at a grocery store, before. But it's not enough here- I want to be able to support myself. I'm tired of still having to depend on Harrison."

"Who's Harrison?"

"I didn't tell you? Well..."

The next day Catherine tugged her rain jacket tighter around her as the wind picked up once more. It had rained off and on all day, and the only good thing that could be said about it was was that the sky was finally clearing. As far as she was concerned if she wanted to get wet she would take a shower.

She sighed and huddled underneath the eaves of the monorail building for a second longer, then set off at a jog towards a side alley several blocks north, passing the statue of Cyrus Thompson as she did. The Winter Mage didn't yet trust her enough to give her the actual location of the warehouse, which wasn't really surprising considering she'd only had three training sessions with her. And after that first time, things hadn't quite been the same between them.

Thankfully, not long after she came to a halt in the cramped and windowless alley there was the bright flash of light that signaled the Winter Mage's arrival. The heroine scanned the alleyway, then smiled. "Right on time, as always."

Catherine smiled. "Never been a fan of being late."

The Winter Mage extended her hand. "Shall we?"

"Yeah."

Catherine steadied herself and took deep breaths until the nausea passed. At least this time she'd managed not to throw up on her shoes this time. It hadn't been a good way to start her last training session, and it had only gone downhill from there.

"As soon as you are ready you can start your meditation."

Catherine sighed and made her way to her mat, shedding her coat as she did so. She placed it carefully on the floor next to her to dry, then leaned against the wall behind her and crossed her legs. Once again at her mentor's instruction she closed her eyes and began to breathe deeply.

At the Winter Mage's direction she envisioned the seat of her magic, the same set of pillars she had encountered before in that had been the demon's domain. She knew instinctively that putting out the pillar's fire would rid her of her magic forever, but as tempting as it was, it wasn't an option if she wanted to stay alive. Either way Faculus would probably still kill her.

The trick, according to the Winter Mage, was to put up a barrier around the pillars, which would suppress the magic she radiated, but would also allow her to call up her powers if and when she needed them. This was turning out to be easier said than done; a rather energetic explosion rose up guiltily in her memory.

But focusing on the past wasn't going to help her now. She slowed her breathing again, which had started to rise at the thought of the incident from her last training session and set about creating her barrier. It was apparently unique to every person; what worked for one had no guarantee of working for another. Catherine knew she was on the right track with the smooth glass enclosure she had attempted before, but there was something about it that wasn't right.

Slowly she built up the glass from the ground up, stopping when she felt her magic push against it. That was the problem right there- the glass sphere wasn't supposed to contain, but work more like a resistor, allowing only a small amount of energy through. She drew her consciousness back, taking in the construct as a whole. After a few minute's consideration she had it. Thin silver lines appeared, spaced an inch or so apart and running both horizontally and vertically around the entirety of the sphere. The resistance stopped. Instead, if she strained, she could feel the slightest amount of magic still leaking through. In the privacy of her own head she smiled.

The job wasn't done though. Not yet. She wondered briefly what the expression on her mentor's face would be when she saw her student had done it on her second try. Whatever it was, it would be good, she was sure. If there was one thing she'd found the few times she'd interacted with the Winter Mage, it was that her moniker fit her very well. She wasn't one to show her emotions at all, which frustrated Catherine to no end.

She sighed mentally and focused her attention on the task at hand. She brought the height of the sphere higher and higher until she felt resistance again, then once again stepped back to take a look at the construct as a whole. The silver lines pulsed with power, bright enough to blind if she had any eyes at that point to be blinded in at that point, then duller and duller until they were almost black, then bright again. Was she missing something? No, she decided, and closed the glass barrier.

The lines went from dull to light once more, but instead of dulling again the lines grew brighter and brighter until the whole sphere began to shake violently. Catherine struggled to reinforce the construct, but within seconds it was too much.

She opened her eyes just in time to watch a white-hot fireball the size of her head dissipate against the ceiling. She swore and scrambled out of the way as bits and pieces of metal fell and fortunately bounced off the Winter Mage's purple shield.

"Oh, man. Are you okay?"

The Winter Mage nodded. "Do you know where you went wrong?"

Catherine sighed and shook her head. "I thought I had it. I swear I did. But it didn't work right, and somehow it overloaded."

"Do you feel comfortable trying again?"

"Yeah, sure."

"First..."

Catherine sighed again. "Right."

She grabbed the broom from its place next to her mat and began to sweep up the mess she had unwittingly created.

"So... I've got a question for you. What's the difference between me and you? I mean, you're teaching me how to control my magic, and you use your own as a heroine, but that doesn't make me one, does it?"

"Not unless you want to be. As far as the law is concerned, a super hero is a person that is registered at City Hall in Atlas Park and maintains that registration actively. If anyone uses their abilities without that license in anything other than self-defense, they can be charged under the law."

"So... this is what, a grey area?"

"I am training you to use your powers only in self-defense. If you wanted to use them in any other way you would have to be licensed, or I would not help you."

"Makes sense, I guess. What made you want to become a hero?"

"Magic runs in my family. My mother taught me, as her mother taught her, as far back as we can trace our ancestry. It's expected of the oldest daughter to follow in her mother's footsteps."

"But what if you didn't want to learn?"

The Winter Mage smiled. "I had an opportunity to not only follow in my mothers' and grandmothers' and great-grandmothers' footsteps, but to protect the city I live in. To make it better for my descendants and for everyone else who lives here. How could I turn that down?"

Catherine looked thoughtful. "At least you grew up around it. This is still a lot to get used to. Every day there's something that couldn't possibly happen in my universe, but it happens here all the time."

"Oh?"

"You name it, and it's different. No magic, science and technology aren't nearly as advanced. No mutants either. Or people trying to kill me."

All of the sudden, a deafening alarm erupted all around them. Catherine took one look at the building shaking around her and hit the deck once again, as the Winter Mage brought up her shield for the second time in fifteen minutes.

As soon as the siren ended a man's voice came on over the emergency warning system. "This is a Vanguard alert. Rikti invasion forces have been spotted in King's Row. All non-combatants are advised to take cover."

Catherine peered out at the Winter Mage from her protected position. "What's going on?"

"The Rikti are invading. Stay here. This building will stand up even to a Rikti bomb. I'll come back for you when the invasion is over."

Catherine got to her feet slowly, heart and mind racing. Harrison had told her about them her second day in her new universe; aliens from outer space with a grudge against humanity that no one was quite sure why they had. They'd come out of the blue one day almost seven years before and decimated the city and its heroes, starting a war that lasted most of the year before the Alpha and Omega teams had put an end to it. There'd been a second invasion five years later, and the Rikti still showed up from time to time to bomb the city. Everything she'd heard about the Rikti said they were fearsome warriors, equal in strength to the city's hero population. Boomtown, Crey's Folly, and the Rikti War Zone would never be the same again.

"Wait, wait!"

The Winter Mage didn't even slow down. "Stay here!"

One flash of light later and the heroine was gone, leaving Catherine alone. She winced as another explosion in the distance made the building shake. The thought of trying to meditate again briefly passed through her mind, but there was no way she'd be able to calm herself down enough to actually relax, not with what sounded like the end of the world going on outside.

Anger flared. The Winter Mage had just left her! There was no way she was going to let that happen, license or no. She had the ability to help so she would, paperwork be damned. There were only two problems. One, she had no idea where to go. And two, even if she did know where to go, she didn't have a costume, and she'd be damned if she'd put any else's life in danger because someone recognized her.

She looked at the ceiling, where there was a new scorch mark on top of the old mark from her last training session, then around the warehouse. She stared thoughtfully at a black duffel bag that presumably belonged to her mentor, tucked neatly away beside some wooden crates. She'd seen glimpses of a second costume in it; it would certainly fit in with the Winter Mage's policy of being prepared for whatever came her way. She hurried over and unzipped it, and sure enough, a full costume was inside.

Minutes later Catherine stepped out onto the streets of Kings Row, hood up as far as she could get it to go. She tugged at the robe, trying in vain to make the garment looser. While the two women were roughly the same height, the Winter Mage had a smaller frame than she did. She was distracted, however, by the sickly green sky above her and the the hulking shape of a Rikti Dropship on a bombing raid in the distance.

People streamed around her, men, women and children, some screaming, some not. One had blood streaming down his forehead, another hobbled as fast as she could using a pair of crutches. It was the quiet ones that made her blood run cold; they ran with a singlemindedness that spoke of experience, and knew that screaming would do them no good.

She paled. What on earth had she gotten herself into? She turned and looked at the door behind her. She'd completely lost her mind, that was for certain. If she changed now, the Winter Mage would never even know.

"Thank you miss, thank you so much!"

Catherine whirled around, never more happy for something obscuring her face than right then. Whoever had spoken hadn't stuck around to be identified, and there were half a dozen women that she could see running down the street. She shook her head slowly. That settled it then. There were people relying on her. Whether that was a good idea was yet to be seen, but for the moment the simple fact that she had a costume on was enough for some people.

She took a deep breath and broke into a run down the street, against the flow of civilians, to where she could see the signs of fighting in the distance. She skidded to a halt roughly half a block from where a dozen or so heroes were duking it out with more Rikti than she cared to count. She put her hands on her knees, breathing heavily.

It was one thing to have the Rikti described to her, and another completely to see them in the flesh. They towered over all but the tallest of the heroes massed against them, wielding gunswords or energy rifles almost as big as they were. One in dark red and grey armor stood off to the side, closer to the steps leading to the plaza. It had its hands to its head, but nothing seemed to be happening.

Blue Steel, decked out in his usual armored blue police uniform and badge-shaped shield stood a few feet from the fray, barking commands she could hear even over the almost deafening noise. A stray energy beam from a Rikti in grey and green's plasma gun lanced in his direction, but it bounced harmlessly off of his shield. Another alien, this one in green and blue, dodged the blast, but found itself in the path of an arc of lightning from a caped heroine wearing mechanical gloves.

"I've gone insane," she muttered. "I am out of my mind and probably going to die."

Blue Steel saw her and called out. "Hurry! Take the left side!"

"Definitely insane."

Seconds later there was no time for second thoughts as a Rikti, with its broadly swept back skull and encased in green and grey armor from the neck down, broke away from the edge of the battle and turned to point its energy rifle at her. Catherine flinched, screamed, and reflexively sent a stream of negative energy lancing out at the invader. The blast dissipated harmlessly against the alien's armor, only angering it further.

She swore and turned to look for someone, anyone, to help her out, only to find that she was on her own. What was she supposed to do now?

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of movement from her opponent. She whirled to face it and launched a softball sized ball of white-hot fire at its chest, then a second, and a third. The first dissipated, just as the stream of negative energy had, but the second and third turned its armor red hot. The alien roared in anger and advanced, bringing its rifle to bear on the hapless woman.

Catherine blanched and tried to back up a pace, but there was a solid object behind her. The solid object said "Ow! Watch out!"

"Sorry!"

She hesitated, and the only thing that prevented her from dying right then and there was the fact that Rikti weaponry didn't charge quickly. As realization dawned she dodged in close, put both hands against its breastplate, then sent a blast of negative energy straight into its chest. It staggered back a pace and dropped to one knee and Catherine cheered.

Heartened, she summoned another fireball and launched the white-hot projectile at her foe. For a long moment nothing happened and the newfound heroine readied for another blast. Then it put its hands to its chest and fell forward, unmoving.

She gasped and shook her head. Had she really done it? Had she really just killed? The fact that it had been trying to kill her wasn't reassuring. The thought of checking its pulse briefly flashed through her mind, but how would that work? There was no way of knowing if the thing had heart, let alone one in the same rough place as humans did.

A male voice cried out behind her, and she whirled around to find a Rikti blade hurtling towards her neck. She screamed; it was too late to move out of the way. All of the sudden a giant hammer swung within in inches of her face, intercepting the blade and shattering it into pieces. A second swing from the stone weapon to the alien invader's chest was all it took to lay the offending Rikti out cold on the ground.

A man her height, dressed in padded clothes in shades of brown, clapped her on the shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Catherine nodded shakily. "Yeah. Thanks."

The man shouldered his hammer, which was easily bigger than his head. Catherine wondered for a moment how on earth he could wield the thing as easily as he did. "Stonebreaker."

Catherine blinked and stared, mind racing. The thought of what she was going to call herself hadn't even crossed her mind.

Stonebreaker smiled. "Not a talker, eh? I understand."

"No! I... I'm, uh, just a little new at this, I guess. I haven't really decided what to call myself yet- watch out!"

She sidestepped around the heavily muscled hero and launched a fireball at yet another Rikti, this one in red and grey. The Rikti staggered back a pace, then regained its balance and resumed its advance.

Stonebreaker put a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her to one side as he grasped his hammer tightly with the other. "My turn."

With that he took his hand from her shoulder and strode forward, then swung with all of his might. The Rikti roared in pain as its chest armor shattered and dropped its sword as it was flung from its feet into the air to arc over the crowd to land in the street. Whether it was dead or merely stunned she didn't know, but it didn't move.

When he turned back around to face her he was smiling widely. "Shall we work together?"

Catherine smiled and nodded. "We shall."

The rest of the battle was a whirlwind of fire and energy and the sound of solid stone on metal as the two fought side by side in the crush of alien invaders and their opponents. At long last the sky lightened and the cry of "The War Walls are back!" came from a hero in green. The last of the aliens either teleported out in a flash of neon green light or found themselves at the wrong end of an increasing number of very angry heroes.

Catherine worked her way to the edge of the crowd, took a deep, shuddering breath and looked around, worry lining her face. Scattered here and there the wounded were being helped to their feet, or in a few cases, teleported into the hospital down the street. Luckily, the Winter Mage didn't seem to be among them. Either that, or she'd been transported during the battle.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder, making her jump and spin around, hands up and ready to summon her magic. Stonebreaker took a step back and held up his own hands, looking apologetic. "Sorry, sorry."

Catherine sighed and shook her head. "It's okay. I'm just a little jumpy, that's all. Have you seen a woman in a black hooded robe, with blue edging?"

Stonebreaker looked at the sky for a moment, then back at Catherine. "No, I don't think so. What about a woman about your height in a green tunic?"

"No, I'm sorry, I haven't."

Stonebreaker nodded. "I'll see you around, then. It was good working with you."

"Yeah. Thanks for saving my life."

He smiled. "The same." With that he headed slowly towards the small crowd around Blue Steel, who had sheathed his sword and flipped up his visor, and seemed to be talking animatedly about something. She pursed her lips, then walked slowly towards the crowd, scanning the area for her mentor.

There was no sign of the Winter Mage, but as she drew closer Blue Steel's words became audible. "… on our own turf. Together, united in our efforts, we have once again proved that our enemies will not stand. For that the city, the police, and I are in your debt."

With that, the policeman shouldered his sword and shield and walked up the steps towards the police station. The crowd stayed for a moment, then dispersed slowly, in singles and small groups until five minutes later Catherine was alone in the middle of the street.

She sighed and sat down on the steps leading to the plaza, then looked up at the blue sky for a moment and shook her head. Why the weather had to be nice only after an invasion she didn't know.

Where could the Winter Mage have gone? In the chaos of the battle there were a thousand things that could have happened, and her imagination worked overtime to provide ideas: maybe she had simply been waylaid by a civilian on they way, or maybe she'd tripped and broken a leg, or maybe she'd been on the wrong end of a Rikti blade and her broken remains were laying in the hospital unclaimed.

She frowned. Where _was_ the nearest hospital? She didn't know the area well enough, but that was easily fixable, at least. Now that the War Walls were back up again and the Rikti mopped up for the moment, a handful of policemen had left the sanctuary of the station to stand in the sunshine and smoke.

She levered herself to her feet and wandered over the the nearest policeman, a heavily muscled man with a shaved head and a cigar held loosely in his left hand. "Excuse me, do you know where the wounded heroes would have gone from a minute ago?"

The policeman nodded. "The hospital is right behind the station," he said in a gravelly voice.

"Thanks."

Catherine strode up the stairs and towards the side of the police station. After half a dozen strides she broke into a jog, then into a run. Luckily for the Skull death cultists and the Vazhilok zombies who normally hung around the pools of water outside the entrance, there were none in sight, because she was in no mood to deal lightly with anything in her way.

"Please let her be okay," she panted, hand on her knees.

She straightened up, took a deep breath to steady her nerves and reached for the door, only to pull her arm back as the door opened from the inside. She stepped back to give whoever it was room, then lunged forward, arms wide when she saw who it was. "You're alive!"


	8. Payback

**Part Eight: Payback**

It had been, she reflected the next morning, not the best of ideas to hug the person who was recovering from a dislocated shoulder. Even more so when said person was not only expecting her to not be wearing her spare costume, but also to be safely ensconced in their hideout. She'd be walking with a limp for weeks after the ass chewing she'd received. On top of that the Winter Mage had insisted on Catherine registering as a heroine as soon as City Hall was open the next morning. She'd wanted to complain about that last one, but the look on her mentor's face brooked no disagreement.

She shifted position from one foot to the other and fiddled with the hem of her vest for what was probably the dozenth time in the past few minutes. It was turning out to be one thing to rush into danger heedlessly, and another thing entirely to deal with the consequences.

She glanced at the Winter Mage out of the corner of her eye, then wondered why she did so; the other woman had her hood pulled forward as far as it would go, and in any case was studiously ignoring everyone around her.

She sighed and peered around the shoulder of the man in front of her, who was dressed entirely in military fatigues and gear. He stood stiffly with his hands clasped behind him, ramrod straight. Catherine resisted the urge to tap him on the shoulder just to see what would happen; somehow she doubted that would get her back into her mentor's good graces. Either fortunately or unfortunately, she wasn't sure which, there were only three more people in front of her.

She reached up again to adjust her black domino mask, which was stuck securely to her face and hadn't moved, just as it hadn't moved the last dozen times. At the desk, a woman with pointed ears and long black hair that reached down to her waist turned and stepped away, slipping something small into a brown satchel looped over one shoulder. With a smile and a wave the woman stepped lightly towards the door to Altas Plaza.

As the line moved forward the Winter Mage turned to look at Catherine, raising her hood some as she did so. "Have you thought about what you are going to call yourself?"

The other woman nodded. "Yeah. Wayfarer."

"A fitting name."

Catherine smiled. "Thanks."

There was silence for a moment. "Does this mean you've forgiven me?"

"For the theft of my costume, or for breaking the law?"

"Both? Or just one or the other," she added after seeing her mentor's expression.

More silence as the line shortened by one more.

"If you haven't forgiven me, then why are you still here?"

"You are my problem, whether I like it or not. I brought you into the situation, and now I will see you out."

"So... you're still going to be my mentor?"

The Winter Mage looked away. "This is not a conversation we should be having in public."

Catherine pursed her lips and nodded, then started fidgeting with the hem of her vest again.

Like her new name, she had come up with the costume while unable to sleep. But really, how could she be expected to after everything that had happened? At least it meant a night free of nightmares. By the time morning rolled around, a pair of serviceable jeans, a grey t-shirt someone had donated when her first apartment had burnt down, and a black vest and mask she'd been planning on putting to good use at Halloween had been found and assembled.

It was also the costume that made her wonder what on earth she was doing the most; it above all was a sign saying 'heroine here'. Granted, technically she was a heroine now, even if the paperwork hadn't been completed yet.

That was about to change though, as the military man in front of her nodded politely to the secretary and clipped his new ID to the front of his flack jacket. Printed in large letters was the name 'Johnny Devil.'

The moment of truth had come. Only her mentor's presence and the thought of being turned in as a criminal kept her from fleeing right then and there. She stepped up to the counter with a nudge from the Winter Mage. The redheaded FBSA agent, wearing a suit and a nametag reading 'Rebecca Cross', smiled warmly.

"What can I do for you today?"

Catherine swallowed hard. "I, uh, want to register as a hero."

"And you miss?" the woman asked, looking at the Winter Mage, who was standing at Catherine's left.

The Winter Mage shook her head. "I am here merely to make sure my sidekick is properly registered."

The agent nodded and picked up a tablet from its dock on the counter next to her, entered a few commands, then handed it to Catherine, who took it cautiously. "Just fill out the forms here and bring it back to me when you're done. You can sit over there," she said, nodding towards several rows of chairs.

Catherine sat in the back and flicked through the files she'd been given, while the Winter Mage chatted with the Rebecca. The process seemed simple enough- things like the name she would work under, whether she wanted her personal identity to be private or public, a basic outline of her abilities, a basic background. There was only one thing that made her hesitate, a question asking about known associates. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her right ear, brought up the onscreen keyboard and began to type. Half an hour later there was only one thing left to do.

"Mage, can I ask you something?"

The hooded heroine turned and sat down next to her trainee. "Yes?"

"I know you didn't want to have this conversation here, but apparently the FBSA wants to know about my known associates."

The Winter Mage was silent for a long while. Catherine was about to ask again when her mentor spoke. "You can count me as one of your associates."

Catherine smiled in relief and leaned over the tablet once more as the Winter Mage continued. "But our conversation is not over. When we are alone we will discuss my terms."

Catherine nodded, then stood up and walked back to the counter and her last chance to back out. "I'm done."

The agent nodded and took the tablet. "Let me make sure everything is filled out properly... okay, you're all set. Your information is updating to the system now, and I'll have your ID card ready for you in just a moment. Make sure when you're on patrol you keep it on you at all times."

There was a beep and the sound of something printing. Catherine peered over the counter interestedly, bu the printer was tucked away unseen. The agent smiled knowingly and handed over the small blue card that marked the recipient as the newest hero in Paragon City.

She resisted the urge to cheer and dance and instead carefully tucked her new ID into her wallet, which went back into its pocket on the lower left of her vest. It was official. She grinned at her mentor, who nodded and said, "Congratulations."

The Winter Mage then looked over at the agent. "Do you need anything further from us?"

"You should visit MAGI and Azuria before you go. With your origin, Wayfarer, she'll be a perfect contact for you at the FBSA."

The two made their goodbyes and exited Superhero Registration. Catherine stepped lightly, a burden lifted from her shoulders. She looked around, slowing to read the plaques on each of the doors as they passed. One in particular caught her eye- 'Omega Team Memorial'. In front of it was a sign stating the memorial was under renovation.

"The Omega Team were the ones that helped end the Rikti War, right?"

"Correct. They and their companions in the Alpha Team, coordinated a final strike on the Rikti invaders. The members of the Omega Team knew theirs was a suicide mission, and so left a time capsule to be opened on the seventh anniversary of their sacrifice."

As they neared the door to Atlas Plaza Catherine slowed, uncertain. "Didn't Agent Cross say I needed to go talk to Azuria?

"If you wish."

"It isn't necessary?" Catherine asked as the duo veered away from the door and towards the far side of the room.

"It is useful for single heroes just starting out, but not nearly so for those experienced or working with an experienced partner."

"Oh. Uh, you don't mind then?"

"I have my own caseload, but I do not have any pressing matters to attend to."

"Oh."

They rounded the corner leading to New Hero Assignments and Catherine slowed, looking around with interest. The hallway quickly opened up into an expansive room, with five large entryways, each with a plaque centered above it. In front of her on the far wall was GIFT, on the left ELITE and SERAPH, and on the right DATA and MAGI The floor thrummed with power beneath their feet, and Catherine briefly wondered why there weren't more visible cracks.

"So that's MAGI, huh," commented Catherine, nodding towards the nearest entryway on the right, where bookcases and shelves could partially be seen.

"Indeed. I must warn you, do not mention the vault while talking to Azuria."

Catherine blinked. "Okay. Why?"

"I will explain once we are done."

It took only half a dozen more steps for Azuria, a woman with long brown hair, a purple ankle length skirt, and a blue tank top, to call out to them.

"Hello and welcome to MAGI! My name is Azuria. It's good to meet you."

Catherine smiled and sped up, while the Winter Mage trailed behind a pace. "It's good to meet you too. Agent Cross said I should talk to you?"

"Of course. Come in, come in." The mage led the two heroes past cases and cases of artifacts, all meticulously detailed. Behind these were rows of bookcases with titles like 'Minor Artifacts of Ancient Babylon' and 'An history of the Isle of Mu.' This last was so battered as to be almost unreadable.

Catherine frowned. "The isle of Mu?"

"A civilization long since lost, although the bloodline continues yet today," Azuria said as she sat at a table tucked in between a display of bracers taken from the Warriors on Talos Island on one side and a giant wooden mask that had belonged to the Banished Pantheon. "Please, sit."

The duo did so.

"Let me give a bit of background on the situation her in Atlas park before I go on. There are three main villain groups: the Hellions, the Clockwork, and the Vazhilok. The Trolls and Skulls occasionally make incursions from the Hollows, and small groups can sometimes be found selling Superadine, but of these groups the Hellions are the most firmly entrenched.

The Hellions, as you probably know, are a group of demon worshiping pyromaniacs. They also deal heavily in minor artifacts of power, although no one is quite sure where they get them from."

Catherine nodded and filled that thought away in her memory.

"There is a location here where I have divined a stronger than usual concentration of magic. I would like you to check it out, recover anything you find, and arrest whoever is in charge."

Catherine looked at the Winter Mage, then back at Azuria. "You've got it."

Azuria smiled. "Thank you for your assistance." She wrote down a location on a piece of paper, and handed it to the newfound heroine. "I would send it to you electronically, but I'm afraid technology doesn't work well in my presence."

Catherine showed the paper to the Winter Mage, then pocket it and stood up. "Thank you for the information."

The Winter Mage nodded. "My apprentice and I will return shortly."

The duo made their way into the late August sunshine. Catherine pulled the piece of paper Auria had given her back out of her pocket. "Does this make sense to you?"

The Winter Mage took it, opened it, and nodded. "It is a set of coordinates, meant to be plugged into a GPS. However, I use this to pinpoint locations," she said as she pulled a black velvet bag from a pocket and removed a clear crystal. As Catherine looked on curiously the hooded heroine held the crystal in the palm of her left hand and waved her right hand over it. The crystal continued to sit in her hand, no seemingly no different that before.

"There," said the Winter Mage. "We now have our own navigation system. "But first, we must pay a visit to both Chiron Medical Center and the police department.

Catherine blinked. "Why?"

"You are in need of a Medi-Porter and teleport beacons"

"Oh."

One trip and an hour later the two heroines stood in front of a brush covered entrance into one of the city's many cave systems, this one on the bank of the pond in Prometheus Park, not far from City Hall.

"Are you certain you understand the rules we must labor under?" the Winter Mage asked quietly.

"Yeah. I can't do anything the police can't do. And especially no killing."

"Correct. While we are working together you must do exactly as I say when dealing with the enemy, or else all of our work will come to nothing."

"Got it."

The Winter Mage waved her hand over the now brightly glowing crystal, causing it to dim. She put it back and pulled out an amethyst. Seconds later the duo were surrounded by a protective bubble.

Catherine narrowed her eyes as she looked between the bubble and her mentor. "I have to say, that looks really familiar."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You kind've look like her too."

The Winter Mage shrugged. "There are many people who use the magic inherent in these stones. It, like many things, is easy to learn and make useful, but hard to master." She shook her head. "This is not a conversation we should have standing in front of our enemies' lair."

Catherine shrugged herself and followed her mentor through the brush and into her first mission. "Curiouser and curiouser," she said under her breath.

The Winter Mage put her finger to her lips. Catherine snorted, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She concentrated and brought her magic to the surface, reveling in the feeling of the seemingly unlimited power at her disposal. If only she had better control, she mused as she carefully followed her mentor down a gentle slope.

The stone that formed the tunnel around them was grey, and lit with torches every dozen paces. After a few minutes the Winter Mage stopped and carefully turned to gesture Catherine forward with one hand and reached into a pocket with the other. Catherine raised her eyebrows, which her mentor answered with a jerk of her head towards the sharp curve in front of them and then mouthed the word 'Hellions'. Catherine nodded and brought a ball of negative energy to hand. The Winter Mage frowned, but raised a hand, three fingers out. _Two... one._

The duo rushed around the corner and launched their attacks near simultaneously. Within seconds the group of four Hellions, one carrying a shotgun, were covered in a layer of ice and shrouded in darkness. None even had the chance to make a sound.

Catherine smiled and turned to the Winter Mage, but her expression faded when she saw her mentor hadn't moved. She looked back towards the Hellions, confused. It was quickly obvious what had the other woman's attention- the cloud of darkness she'd created around her victims was spreading as she watched, and deepening. A cold chill radiated from it, and somehow it seemed to be sucking the light from the surrounding area. As they watched the cloud grew bigger, and the room grew dimmer.

The Winter Mage whirled towards the younger woman. "Whatever you've done, end it!"

Catherine jerked and glanced at her mentor, then at the obscured Hellions. There was an edge in her voice that she'd never heard before, and it set her nerves on edge- fear. She pursed her lips, thought for a second, and slashed her right hand through the air from left to right. The cloud slowly faded into nothing, revealing four chilled Hellions.

"We must work quickly before their internal fires release them from captivity. Take one of the patches you received from Chiron Medical Center and place it on his chest," the Winter Mage said brusquely, nodding towards the nearest Hellion. "and activate it to send your target to the nearest medical center."

Catherine stared at the small white patch with a red cross on it, then back at the Hellion.

"Quickly," the Winter Mage urged. "Would you deny him the medical care he needs?"

That was enough to jolt her into action, and the hapless quartet was soon on their way.

The two heroines started on their way again, until a few minutes later their path split in two.

"So what now? Should we split up?"

The Winter Mage shook her head slowly. "There is safety in numbers, especially when one is inexperienced. I believe I have a way of determining which direction we should turn."

Catherine watched as the other woman pulled out her purse of gemstones and removed the crystal she had used earlier. One wave of the hand and a muttered phrase later the stone shone dimly. Once again she held it in the palm of her hand and pointed it in either direction. It didn't react at all to the right hand passage, but brightened at the left.

The duo set off in the direction the gem indicated at a slow but steady pace. It continued to lead them left and down until Catherine was sure they were fifty feet or more underground.

Finally, after two more small groups of Hellions and what seemed like an eternity, the Winter Mage stopped once again before rounding a curve. Even Catherine didn't need to ask what was going on this time- the sound of heavy metal being played through a boombox could clearly be heard.

During the quieter moments it was possible to hear at least half a dozen voices raised in excitement. A burst of heat rolled past them, explaining at least part of what was going on- someone was playing with their favorite element.

Catherine cupped her hands together, formed a ball of energy there, and raised her eyebrows at her mentor. The Winter Mage frowned and shook her head abruptly. The younger woman shook her head and dispersed her magic. "What's the plan?" she said quietly.

The hooded heroine brought out her purse of gemstones and Catherine had to suppress a groan. Was there nothing she couldn't do with them?

This time it was the amethyst, and a few seconds later the purple protective bubble around the two of them was stronger than ever. Something began to glow under her hood, illuminating her face in a yellow light. the temperature dropped like a rock, making Catherine shiver and a light coat of frost appeared on the stone around them.

The Winter Mage strode around the corner, leaving Catherine behind in surprise. "Oh, hey!"

She scrambled forward just in time to watch her mentor reach the rough center of the small, circular room and raise her hands into the air. The temperature dropped even farther, and three of the half-dozen Hellions there were encased immovably in blocks of ice.

Catherine darted in behind the distracted gang members and planted herself behind a large stalagmite, heart racing. What on earth was her mentor thinking, rushing in like that? She was going to get herself killed or at the least badly injured. She shuddered, then took a deep breath and popped out of her hiding spot.

"Surprised to see us? Shoulda kept better security!" she called out as she lobbed fist sized balls of negative energy at the three remaining gang members, but especially at the sole demon-masked Hellion. She knew that he would cause the most trouble if he weren't taken down quickly.

Unfortunately, all it seemed to do was make her opponents angrier. On top of that, the few seconds she'd been hidden had apparently been enough for her to completely lose track of the Winter Mage. She swore virulently.

One of the Hellions broke and fled from the chamber, leaving Catherine with the Damned and a single minion.

She strode forward, anger in her voice. "If you hurt the Winter Mage, I promise you, you'll wish you'd never been born."

The Damned laughed, raised his hands into the air, and launched twin fireballs at her chest. Catherine never paused, taking both blows without even blinking. She swung her arms out to her sides, but before she could do anything else a blow to her upper back threw her headlong towards the stalagmites only a few feet from the back wall.

The knocked the breath out of her and she lay in a heap for a few seconds, until a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye cued her in to the fact that she was about to be attacked, not by the Damned, but by the Blood Brother Slugger carrying a knife.

She scrambled backwards, only to quickly find herself up against a rock. She looked around herself wildly, hoping against hope that her mentor was close at hand, but the other woman was still nowhere to be found. The Hellion smiled with glee and advanced, sure of a certain kill.

To her astonishment, the Hellion stopped dead in his tracks, dropped his weapon, and fell straight over, revealing a mass of ice from the top of his head to cover his upper arms, and down his back to his waist.

Catherine breathed a sigh of relief; even if she hadn't seen where the blast had come from, it meant the Winter Mage was okay. She levered herself to her feet and stumbled, head swimming. She shook her head, braced herself against the wall and concentrated, bringing as much of her power to bear as she could in the precious seconds she had before the Damned found her friend and fried her. The air around her blurred and darkened, until she was surrounded in an aura of darkness. The same aura formed around the feet of the Damned, and seconds later tendrils rose up and wrapped themselves around the Hellion's limbs, rendering him helpless.

"Mage!" she panted as loudly as she could. "I can only hold him so long!"

As she strained to keep the Hellion bound the Winter Mage came out from her concealment in the back of the chamber. The Hellion was soon encased in a block of ice from the neck down on top of the energy tendrils.

"Good work. Hold him as long as you can, please."

Catherine grimaced, but kept feeding as much energy as she could into her construct. It was all she could do to maintain it; she had no attention to give to the interrogation going on not more than ten feet away. Two minutes later the world dimmed, a minute after that it went black.


End file.
